PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he received information that Tesla Inc could not compete with Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), which led to the cancellation of its proposed factory in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

He said the information was relayed to him by the Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz who is currently talking and getting updates from Tesla itself.

“Tengku Zafrul is getting the latest information (on reports suggesting that) it (Tesla) is facing losses and cannot compete with Chinese EVs.

“Its operations in Thailand are large while we’re just starting.

“We received the information (about Tesla’s investment) directly (from the company), not from media coverage,” Anwar told reporters after the launching ceremony of the Guidelines on the Management and Governance of Federal Statutory Bodies.

Anwar was commenting on the matter after criticism against the government following news that the US EV maker scaled down its operations in South-East Asia (SE Asia).

Yesterday, Tengku Zafrul said Tesla had never announced any plans to build a factory in Malaysia.

On a report by Thai daily The Nation that Tesla has abandoned its plans to build factories in SE Asia, including Malaysia, Tengku Zafrul pointed out that the report only cited anonymous sources and did not contain any official confirmation from Tesla.

“The ministry has never announced that Tesla will open a factory in Malaysia. While we have had discussions with (Tesla CEO) Elon Musk about attracting investment, Tesla has never committed to opening a factory here,” he said in a statement.

Tengku Zafrul also said Tesla is part of Malaysia’s Battery EV Global Leaders initiative, a government policy aimed at boosting the country’s EV ecosystem.

Among its conditions are installing at least 50 ultra-fast EV chargers with a capacity of more than 180 kilowatt hours, ensuring that at least 30% of the ultra-fast EV chargers developed in Malaysia are open for public use, and collaborating with at least 10 local companies in developing the EV charging service industry ecosystem. — TMR