Tesla said to be in talks with Thailand for EV, battery production facility after site survey last year – report

It’s no secret that Indonesia and Thailand have their eyes on being Tesla’s pick for a Gigafactory location in South East Asia, with both countries having actively engaged with the EV manufacturer about that possibility in recent times, and not being coy about it.

The jockeying continues, with Thailand now saying that the carmaker is in talks with government for a potential production facility in the country, after having conducted a site survey late last year, Reuters reports.

This was revealed by Supakorn Congsomjit, an official from the prime minister’s office, who said that the Thai government has offered Tesla 100% green energy to run the facility, which could potentially assemble EVs or batteries.

Tesla said to be in talks with Thailand for EV, battery production facility after site survey last year – report

The news report doesn’t indicate anything beyond that, so it remains to be seen if anything actually develops beyond talk. Thailand has of course been offering incentives to electric vehicle manufacturers and EV battery producers as well as tax cuts to local EV buyers in order to bolster its position as a regional automotive hub. While it already has the likes of Mercedes-Benz and BMW assembling batteries in the country, getting Tesla in would be a huge feather in its cap.

The same holds true for Indonesia, which has been aggressively pursuing the carmaker, tempting it with its rich nickel reserves. Talks have been going on for a few years now, although it was reported that Indonesia’s discussions with Tesla to build a factory in the archipelago had fallen through back in March 2022, before resurfacing again shortly after, continuing to this day.

Will it happen for either Thailand or Indonesia? Until an official announcement from Tesla is made on any manufacturing investment in the region, it all remains conjecture, but you can expect the huffing and puffing – and overtures to the carmaker – to continue. To wit, the news late last year indicating that the company had chosen India for its next Gigafactory location, with an announcement on this due in January, which has of course come and gone rather silently.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.

Bought a new Tesla? You need to make sure it has an insurance cover note 7 days before delivery day. You can use our Tesla Insurance service to get it insured.