This post was originally published on this site
Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) are up over 2% in premarket Monday after CNBC Indonesia reported that the electric vehicle (EV) maker signed a contract to buy about $5 billion of materials needed to make batteries.
Indonesia has major nickel reserves and has been actively trying to get Tesla to start producing EV units in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
According to Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan, Tesla signed a 5-year deal with nickel processing companies, which will supply the company with the material needed to build lithium batteries.
“We are still in constant negotiation with Tesla…but they have started buying two excellent products from Indonesia,” Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan said in an interview broadcast on Monday.
LG and Hyundai have also made investments in Indonesia as companies ramp up efforts to secure battery materials.
