Tesla Shanghai Called No Longer Using Batteries From Nickel, Luhut Gives This Answer

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut Binsar Panjaitan. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Pandjaitan, gave an answer to the statement by the AMIN National Team's Co-Capptain, Thomas Lembong or Tom Lembong, who also said that 100 percent of electric cars produced by Tesla in Shanghai no longer use nickel-based batteries.

Luhut firmly stated that the statement was not true.

According to him, electric vehicles made by Tesla are still using batteries from nickel with supplies supplied from the LG Energy Solution company.

"They still use nickel. So, like the supply of nickel-based batteries, South Korea's LG is carried out for the electric car model produced by Tesla in Shanghai," said Luhut, quoted from his Instagram page, Wednesday, January 24.

In his upload, Luhut also denied the use of lithium ferro phosphate (LFP)-based batteries for electric vehicles had already begun to be used by Tesla Shanghai.

According to him, the use of LFP as a battery has begun to be looked at because research on this technology has developed.

He also did not rule out the possibility of reduced use of nickel

"Indeed, one time it is possible that nickel will decrease its use. Therefore, we must also boost it but with measured means," he said.

Luhut said that the downstreaming of Indonesian cathodes is currently very advanced so that Indonesian exports no longer depend on raw material exports.

Regarding the price of Nickel, he said that if we look at the average price over the past 10 years, since 2014, the world average nickel price is 15 thousand US dollars, still lower than the current price.

Even in the 2014-2019 period, he said, when the initial downstream period began, the average world nickel price was only 12 thousand US dollars.

"So I think the candidate pair need to look at the longer history of data in reading commodity price cycles," Luhut continued.

Then regarding the export data for nickel derivative products, Luhut said that in the period January to November 2023, it was USD 31.30 billion, an increase of 0.6 percent compared to exports for the same period in 2022, namely USD 31.13 billion.

"Although our production has increased significantly, it does not mean that our income has decreased," concluded Luhut.