Questioning Tesla's Nickel Purchase Contract, Member Of Commission VII: To Chinese Companies, Indonesia Only Gets Profit From Semi-Finished Nickel Products

Member of Commission VII DPR RI Mulyanto. (Photo: Doc. Antara/KKP)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission VII DPR RI Mulyanto asked the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut B. Panjaitan to pay more attention to the nickel purchase contract by Elon Musk's company, Tesla. The reason is that the transaction occurred between Tesla and a Chinese company that was established in Indonesia, so the transaction did not occur directly with an Indonesian company.

He said all the profits from the transaction would go into the pockets of Chinese companies. Meanwhile, the Indonesian government only gets a share of the profits from the smelter industry which produces semi-finished nickel products.

"What the Coordinating Minister for Marves was proud of some time ago was not correct. Due to the fact that Tesla transacted with Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co and CNGR Advanced Materials Co. Both are Chinese companies established in Indonesia," said Mulyanto in a statement to the media, Thursday, August 11.

On the other hand, according to Mulyanto, the Indonesian government should be concerned about this condition. This is because the materials traded in the billion-dollar contracts are raw materials for products based on Indonesian natural resources.

However, he said, because it has become the management area of a Chinese company, Indonesia cannot take more value from the transaction. Unless Tesla builds a battery factory or electric car in Indonesia, the added value for Indonesia will certainly be different.

"This case should make the Indonesian government aware of the importance of the nickel downstream program. The government must seriously complete this program so that the Indonesian people can get more value from managed natural resources. It's not like now you can only enjoy the sales of semi-finished products whose value is not much," he explained.

In addition, Mulyanto said that Tesla's transaction with the two Chinese companies was evidence of the failure of the trade lobby of the Coordinating Minister for Marves and President Joko Widodo to the Tesla owner, Elon Musk some time ago. Therefore, he hopes that the Coordinating Minister for MARVES should be able to explain why Tesla prefers to transact with a Chinese company rather than the Indonesian government as the owner of the nickel exploration area being traded.

"In this case, the impression appears that the visit of the Coordinating Minister for Marves and President Joko Widodo to Tesla some time ago was for the purpose of marketing products belonging to a Chinese company," he concluded.

Previously, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan revealed that the US car manufacturer Tesla had signed a contract to purchase battery raw materials from a nickel processing company in Indonesia worth US$5 billion or around Rp74.5 trillion.

"We are still negotiating this Tesla because they are still busy with their domestic affairs such as Twitter. But they have already signed a contract for the next 5 years," said Luhut in Jakarta, Monday, August 8.

Luhut added that Tesla had signed a contract with a nickel processing company operating in Morowali, Central Sulawesi. The nickel will later be used in Tesla's lithium battery.