Jokowi Offers Nickel Concession to Woo Tesla's Investment
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo tries to persuade Tesla Inc to build its factory in Indonesia. He has even offered a nickel mining concession to Tesla in addition to existing fiscal incentives. "I told Elon Musk, if you invest in Indonesia, I will give you a nickel concession," Jokowi told Reuters in a special interview on Wednesday.
Jokowi said it would be up to Tesla to accept the offer and take part in the raw material supply chain for EV batteries. "If they want to start from an EV battery, that is fine as well," he said. Jokowi also discussed EV incentives, such as subsidies for purchasing electric vehicles to create a market. He believes all these incentives are superior compared to what other countries have offered to Tesla.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Maritime and Investment Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan confirmed the government's plan to provide tax discounts for purchasing electric vehicles. "[Subsidy worth] Rp 7 million for motorcycles. Later, we will reduce tax for [electric] cars from 11 percent to one percent," Luhut said Wednesday on the sidelines of the Mandiri Investment Forum. The Finance Ministerial Regulation (PMK) on EV tax discounts will be out next week.