So what happened to talks between the Malaysian government and Tesla set for today?
Well, for one thing, Tesla isn’t going to build a car production plant in Malaysia as many had assumed it would.
What it will do is work with the government to make the country a leading green technology hub in the region.
Ministy of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said on his X account that the focus of the talks with a Tesla delegation in Kuala Lumpur today was on the government’s Global Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) AP Scheme. The delegation was led by Tesla China president Tom Zhu.
To qualify for the scheme, companies must import fully-electric, Level 2 autonomous vehicles, set up local operations within three years, install a minimum of 50 public DC fast chargers, and support Malaysian workforce and education.
Zafrul said the Tesla officials assured him the company would continue to support the local EV ecosystem as agreed under the scheme. That will include helping nine Malaysian companies in developing the local EV charging infrastructure.
Tesla was the first electric car maker to be approved under the scheme, which the government said is also open to other automakers.
Zafrul said Tesla has installed 52 Supercharger units with a capacity of 250KW, 54 Wall Connector AC chargers, and over 4,500 home chargers across Peninsular Malaysia as of July, Its investment in Malaysia’s EV infrastructure had reached US$13.5 million (RM59.06 million) so far.
He also said the discussions with Tesla also explored the potential of battery energy storage technology to enhance energy efficiency and stabilise Malaysia’s power grid.
