Tesla cancels plans to build factory in Southeast Asia amid turmoil

According to The Nation, citing sources from the Thai government, Tesla has canceled its plans to build an electric car factory in Thailand, Malaysia, or Indonesia; instead, they will focus solely on developing charging infrastructure.

This decision is said to have been made after Tesla's personnel team that visited Thailand late last year was dismissed.

"Tesla is now only discussing charging stations, with plans for building factories being canceled not only in Thailand but worldwide. They will not assemble cars in Malaysia, Indonesia, or anywhere else, except for China, the U.S., and Germany," a source told The Nation.

Model Y assembly line at Tesla's Gigafactory in Germany (Photo: Paultan).

In November 2023, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced that Tesla had plans to turn Thailand into an electric car manufacturing hub. This announcement came after he had held multiple meetings with Tesla executives in both Thailand and the U.S.

Prime Minister Srettha also visited Tesla's factory in Fremont when he traveled to the U.S. to attend the 30th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November last year.

In Thailand, Prime Minister Srettha and Pheu Thai party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin, welcomed Tesla's CEO Rohan Patel to attend the Yi Peng event in Chiang Mai also in November 2023.

It was reported that Tesla was surveying 3 locations in Thailand for a factory and planned to announce an investment of over $5 billion in the first quarter of this year.

According to government sources, Tesla has decided to halt these plans and disband the specialized team.

The project in Mexico is also on hold, despite an official announcement from Tesla, not just in ASEAN.

First announced in March 2023, this project has undergone several delays, including one when U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump declared a 100% tariff on cars manufactured in Mexico, which was seen as a backdoor for companies to import cars into the U.S. tax-free.

In October 2023, Tesla confirmed that the project was being shelved due to economic concerns.

However, a source from the Malaysian Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry stated that there has been no official announcement from Tesla.

Although Tesla has not disclosed any plans to build a factory in Southeast Asia, Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Investment and Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan stated to reporters that Tesla is considering opening a battery factory in the country.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have met, but no official announcement has been made.