Malaysia PM to meet Elon Musk virtually by end of week

MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will hold a virtual meeting with Tesla’s chief executive officer Elon Musk by the end of this week, said Trade Minister Zafrul Aziz.

Zafrul also confirmed local media reports that Tesla will officially launch in Malaysia on Jul 20. He spoke to reporters after soft launching the International Electric Mobility Showcase 2023, an event focusing on electric vehicles (EVs) scheduled for October in Kuala Lumpur. 

Tesla in March said it will sell its electric cars in Malaysia to tap into the rising foreign demand for EVs in South-east Asia. The company plans to open an office in the country, introduce service centres and build a network of superchargers. The Star newspaper last Friday (Jul 7) cited Anwar as saying he will meet Musk this week to discuss further investments in Malaysia.  

The discussion may go beyond exploring EV investment opportunities in Malaysia, Zafrul said.

“I think there is more than just EV sector that we are talking about, for this potential collaboration,” he said.

Zafrul said that Malaysia aims to increase its network of EV chargers tenfold within the next two years. Malaysia has about 1,000 chargers currently, but remains aggressive in its pursuit to install 10,000 chargers by 2025. BLOOMBERG