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Kuala Lumpur: The Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (Miti) said it is planning to meet American carmaker Tesla Inc’s representatives on August 22 to verify whether it is planning to cancel its plans to develop factories in the region.

Its minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz was quoted today saying the meeting will be important as Tesla has yet to make any official statement over the rumour.

“The information or allegations about the factory cancellation, we have only heard from third parties, not from Tesla.

“We will meet with Tesla’s top management from the United States in two weeks,” he was quoted saying by Sinar Harian in Sabak Bernam,

He said his ministry will then issue a statement on the meeting after obtaining Tesla’s agreement, as it involves internal company matters.

Tengku Zafrul also said that any cancellation would not, affect Malaysia as one of the electric vehicle (EV) hubs in the region.

Yesterday, Tengku Zafrul said Tesla has never committed to opening a factory in Malaysia and his ministry had only engaged in discussions with Tesla founder Elon Musk in efforts to attract investment.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also had said that Tesla’s decision to defer its planned expansion in the region was not a result of Malaysia’s performance or polices.

Instead, he said it was down to fierce competition to the US EV from Chinese rivals.

Last week, Thai news portal The Nation published a report saying that Tesla was halting plans for factories in the region, including in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.

This caused confusion here, as Tesla did not previously commit to such a factory, but rather to developing the firm’s supercharger network.