Indonesia President Confident Of Winning Tesla EV Plant Investment Courtesy Of Battery Reserves And Subsidies

Indonesian President Joko Widodo or Jokowi is confident about Tesla, Inc TSLA investing in a production facility in his country after doling out incentives ranging from tax breaks to a concession to mine nickel.
Southeast Asia's largest economy wooed the EV giant since 2020 to tap its rich nickel ore reserves, Reuters reports.
The president held talks with Tesla CEO Elon Musk twice, meeting him in person at his SpaceX facility in Texas last year and a telephone call.
Jokowi promised nickel subsidies, including tax breaks and a subsidy scheme for EV purchases.
The president was "confident" of Indonesia's edge due to its leading nickel reserves and a big domestic market.
Tesla sought additional manufacturing hubs beyond Fremont, California; Shanghai; Austin, Texas and outside Berlin.
Analysts estimate that Tesla would need to build seven or eight more "gigafactories" to meet Musk's target of selling 20 million electric vehicles by 2030.
South Korea, Canada, and Mexico vied for Tesla to invest in manufacturing.
Analysts have said Mexico could have an edge to win the Tesla investment because of its proximity to its primary market in the U.S.
Jokowi banned the export of nickel ore in 2020 to encourage investors to build a vertically integrated supply chain for batteries and EVs.
Indonesia saw rising interest in EV or battery production investment, with South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co, Ltd HYMTF and LG Energy Solution.
Indonesia weighed earmarking 5 trillion rupiah ($320.41 million) from next year's budget to boost EV purchases.
The government plans to offer subsidies to sellers to cover the costs.
Indonesia targeted 20% of overall car sales in 2025 to be EVs.
Price Action: TSLA shares traded higher by 1.20% at $175.15 in the premarket on the last check Wednesday.