KUALA LUMPUR: Tesla's decision to halt plans for establishing plants in Southeast Asia countries is a business decision by the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) maker and not due to any fault of the Malaysian government, Fahmi Fadzil said.
"A group of critics recently complained that Tesla has left Malaysia. However, the company did not just leave Malaysia (from its plans to develop a factory), but also Thailand and Indonesia.
"It is not our (the government) fault, it is a business decision as Tesla finds it difficult to compete with Chinese companies, which have different (business) models and produce cheaper products," he said in his speech after the unity government convention for the Lembah Pantai constituency.
The Communications Minister, who is also the Lembah Pantai member of Parliament, said other foreign investors are confident with the unity government's stability, clear policies and commitment to serve until the term ends.
This, he said, could be seen through investments worth billions of ringgit invested by Google, ByteDance as well as Infineon.
"With clear policies and the facilities provided to make it easier for investors, as well as the confidence the investors have (towards the government), we are also seeing our trade increasing and the ringgit strengthening."
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said stiff competition from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers prompted Tesla to cancel its plans to build factories in Southeast Asia.
This comes after Thai online news portal The Nation cited unnamed sources within the government claiming that Tesla is cancelling its plans to develop factories in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.
The report also said that Tesla's current discussions are only focused on efforts related to charging stations and has suspended plans to develop factories not just in Thailand but globally.
Following the report, Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said Tesla has never committed to opening a factory in Malaysia and their discussions involved the efforts to attract investment and did not involve setting up a factory.
Tengku Zafrul also downplayed the report as it came from unnamed sources and not an official statement from Tesla.
In March last year, Tesla announced plans to open a headquarters in Malaysia, introduce a Tesla Experience Centre and Service Centre, and establish a super-fast charging network in the country.
This followed MITI's approval of Tesla's application to import battery electric vehicles into Malaysia.