Electric vehicle maker Tesla to open office in Malaysia

Malaysia on Wednesday (Mar 1) said that electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla will open an office in the country and establish a network of charging stations for its cars.

Tesla's application to import battery-run EVs - also known as BEV - into Malaysia has been approved, and the company will also open showrooms and services centres, Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said in a statement.

The American firm's presence in Malaysia is expected to create skilled jobs and increase participation of local companies in the Tesla ecosystem, the ministry added.

"We are pleased by Tesla's decision to establish its presence in the electric vehicle ecosystem in Malaysia," said Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz

"This demonstrates Tesla's confidence in our economic fundamentals and conducive business environment."

He said that MITI and its agencies will continue to enhance efforts to improve the ease of doing business in Malaysia, while continuously profiling the country as pro-trade, pro-industry and pro-investment. "We will also strategically leverage on our established electrical and electronics ecosystem to make Malaysia the preferred investment destination for technology related to electric mobility," he added.

The entry of Tesla was facilitated by MITI through its BEV Global Leaders initiative, which aims to help boost battery electric vehicle demand in the local market and further promote the development of the ecosystem to support BEV adoption.

"In addition, the initiative seeks to secure investments from leading global BEV manufacturing companies in Malaysia. Tesla is the first applicant of this initiative by MITI," the ministry said.

Malaysia did not say when Tesla would open the office.

Tesla, which is run by Elon Musk, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.