Ask Tesla, says Zafrul after car maker ‘ditches’ factory plans
Published on: Thursday, August 08, 2024
By:
FMT, Predeep Nambiar
Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz spoke briefly to reporters after a Budget 2025 dialogue with E&E industry players at the Kulim Hi-Tech Park.
PETALING JAYA: Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz sidestepped queries on a report alleging that US electric car maker Tesla has abandoned plans to build factories in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia.
"You ask Tesla, I don’t work for Tesla," he said, when asked to comment on the report by Thai daily The Nation. "I don’t know, you ask Tesla."
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Asked if his ministry would be issuing an official statement, Tengku Zafrul simply said "thank you" to reporters.
Yesterday, The Nation, quoting a Thai government source, reported that Tesla had scuppered plans to set up an electric vehicle factory in the region.
The source said the firm is only discussing charging stations, with the factory plans suspended worldwide except for China, the US and Germany. The decision was part of Tesla’s withdrawal of investment across Asia and beyond.
It is understood that the Tesla team of executives leading the company’s push into Southeast Asia last year has since been disbanded.
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The investment, trade and industry ministry yesterday dismissed the report, saying it was not based on an official statement from Tesla and lacked confirmation from the company itself.
Earlier today, Bernama quoted a spokesman from the ministry as saying that Tesla could have scrapped its plan as part of a commercial decision on its global operations.
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However, the spokesman said this does not reflect poorly on the industrial reforms and improved investment landscape the ministry and its agencies have worked on since December 2022.
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