Tesla To Tap Indonesia's Nickel Reserves For EV Components: Reuters

Tesla, Inc TSLA plans to send delegations to Indonesia in January to discuss supply chain investments with the government, Reuters reports.

What Happened: Indonesia's Coordinating Ministry for Maritime & Investment Affairs confirmed Tesla's plan in a statement to Reuters. The country's president, Joko Widodo, has spoken about Indonesia having the world's biggest nickel reserves on several occasions. 

The Southeast-Asian country banned all nickel exports starting January in a bid to speed up efforts to process more of its resources at home.

Widodo told Reuters that he intends to make Indonesia the biggest producer of lithium batteries. 

Why It Matters: Luhut Pandjaitan, the coordinating minister for maritime and investment, and President Widodo were on call with Elon Musk on Friday to discuss investment opportunities with Tesla, the ministry confirmed to Reuters.

Musk told the newswire last month that he plans to offer a big contract if the nickel is mined "efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way."

Nickel was a big discussion point at Tesla's Battery Day event. Nickel's sustainable supply is an issue for the fast-growing electric vehicle market.

Price Action: TSLA shares closed 2.72% lower at $609.99 on Friday.

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