Tesla Never Pledged To Set Up Factory In Malaysia - Tengku Zafrul

Investor, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz stated that Tesla has never committed to building a factory in Malaysia.

Thai online news portal, The Nation,reported that Tesla is abandoning its plan to establish factories in Thailand and Malaysia, among other countries in Southeast Asia. In an X post, Zafrul clarified that while talks had taken place to try and attract investment, the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) had not established a factory in talks with Tesla founder Elon Musk.

He explained that the government established the Global Electric Vehicle Battery Leader Initiative, which is open to all EV manufacturers, including Tesla. Its goal is to improve the charging network for local EV owners and increase the participation of local businesses in the EV charging ecosystem. Tesla is dedicated to making investments in a vast network of fast and standard charging stations at key locations throughout the nation, in addition to building its cutting-edge corporate headquarters and service center in Cyberjaya, Selangor.

Tengku Zafrul aldded that the rumours about Tesla scrapping its plans for factories in SEA countries were sourced anonymously, rather than directly from MITI or Tesla.
“Regardless, MITI will continue to try to attract high-quality investment to Malaysia including continuing the strategy of attracting investment in the automotive industry, which is not limited to Tesla only. The local manufacturers also support Tesla’s global supply chain by supplying them with spare parts, components, and factory automation systems,”