Tesla is again rumored to be near deal to build factory in Indonesia
Tesla is again rumored to be nearing a deal to build a factory in Indonesia, which would secure a lot of nickel supply for the automaker.
There have been rumors about Tesla setting up shop in Indonesia for years.
In 2020, we reported on Tesla allegedly being in talks with the Indonesian government to build a new nickel venture in the country, which has a strong nickel reserve – nickel is one of the main materials used in the production of cathodes for battery cells used in electric vehicles. The move came after CEO Elon Musk pleaded with mining companies to increase their nickel production.
As we detailed in our previous report on Tesla’s interest in Indonesia, the country is one of the world’s biggest nickel producers, but it has also recently put a ban on exporting nickel ore in order to encourage the industry to process it locally.
Indonesia hopes that the measure will encourage companies to invest in manufacturing finished products in the country using their nickel, such as batteries.
There has certainly been strong interest from Tesla to establish a relationship with Indonesia.
Last year, Tesla sent a group to Indonesia to talk with the government, and Elon Musk met with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
However, the automaker’s actual intentions in the country have not been clear, and rumors have been all over the place.
In May 2022, Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said that Tesla had “agreed” to “build a battery and electric vehicle plant.” At the time, we noted that the comment should be taken with a grain of salt at this point since the government seems to still be negotiating with Tesla.
A few months later, a government official said that Tesla secured a deal for $5 billion worth of nickel in Indonesia, but half a year later, there’s still no word from Tesla about the deal.
Now the rumors are starting back up with a report from Bloomberg stating that Tesla is nearing a preliminary deal for a factory in the country.
While the kind of factory Tesla planned to build in Indonesia has been unclear, the report claims that Tesla actually plans to build electric cars:
The plant would produce as many as 1 million cars a year, the people said, in line with Tesla’s ambition for all its factories globally to eventually reach that capacity. The discussions include plans for multiple facilities in the country serving different functions, including production and supply chain, one of the people said. A deal hasn’t been signed and the agreement could still fall through, said the people, asking not to be identified as the talks are confidential.
But at this point, there have been nonstop rumors about Tesla “nearing” a deal with Indonesia over the last two years. So I would take this, too, with a grain of salt.
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Environment
Tesla releases details about ‘Robotaxi’ launch: there’s a ‘safety monitor’ in front seat
Tesla has released the details about its planned ‘Robotaxi’ launch in Austin, Texas, this weekend, and it’s even worse than we thought. There’s going to be a “safety monitor” in the front seat.
Over the last few weeks, we have been discussing how Tesla’s planned launch of a “Robotaxi” service was a game of smoke and mirrors, meant to improve the optics of the automaker’s self-driving efforts as Waymo emerges as a clear leader.
The planned service is a geo-fenced and teleoperation-supported ride-hailing service operated by a small internal fleet, which is completely different from Tesla’s long-promised unsupervised self-driving in consumer vehicles through its “Full Self-Driving program.”
Furthermore, we have been reported on Tesla’s limited testing in Austin, which CEO Elon Musk claimed involved “no driver”, but test vehicles have all been spotted with Tesla employees in the front passenger seats with access to buttons to stop the car or have it pull over.
In comparison, Waymo tested its vehicles for 6 months with a safety driver in the car and 6 months without a safety driver in the car in Austin before launching its commercial service earlier this year.
Now, Tesla has sent invitations to some known pro-Tesla influencers, primarily on Musk’s X social media platform, to experience the launch of the Robotaxi service this weekend.
The invitations confirm extreme limitations in the service, with the most significant one being the presence of a “safety monitor” in the passenger seat.
Here are the other requirements listed:
- You must agree to Terms of Service, Rider Rules, Privacy Notice, and Service Animal Policy.
- You must have a credit/debit card on file.
- You can request a ride via the app from 6:00 AM to 12:00 AM, within the geofenced area (excluding airports).
- Operational hours and geofence details are available in the app and may change.
- Service may be limited or unavailable in inclement weather.
- Only the invited user may download and use the Robotaxi app.
- Participants must be courteous and respectful; unsafe or disrespectful behavior may lead to termination.
- Riders should provide a star rating and feedback in the app.
- Photos and videos of the experience are permitted.
- Smoking, vaping, consuming alcohol, and using drugs are not permitted inside the Robotaxi.
- Robotaxi may not be used in connection with any crime or to transport weapons or illegal/hazardous materials (e.g., flammable or combustible liquids).
- Surveillance, reverse engineering, or recording of proprietary Robotaxi components or features is strictly prohibited.
- Tesla may suspend or terminate access if:
- You violate any of these rules.
- You post or share content on social media that depicts misuse or violations inside the Robotaxi.
In short, Tesla’s “Robotaxi” service is going to launch with the supervision of Tesla employees in the front seat at all times. It’s limited to 6 am to 12 am and it doesn’t work in “inclement weather.
Electrek’s Take
Again, like I repeatedly said, this is all about optics. Tesla is just trying to get a win and say that it “launched its robotaxi on time in June” when this is basically Tesla’s public FSD with the supervising driver being moved to the passenger seat.
At least it’s going to be safer than if Tesla went without it, but it clearly shows that Tesla is falling far behind Waymo and the competition when it comes to self-driving.
The main thing that people like about Waymo and there are even willing to pay more than Uber is the fact that there’s no one else in the car.
This simply won’t scale. Tesla has yet to solve self-driving. It needs to focus on that instead of appearences.
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the Tesla Robotaxi launch this weekend, the new Nissan Leaf, Ford’s upcoming low-cost EVs, and more.
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Today, the episode is live at 8 a.m instead due to Fred’s travels in China.
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