Following its impending official launch in Malaysia, American EV maker Tesla will soon be opening its flagship outlets – including the company headquarters, experience centres, and service centres – in Selangor later this year.
This was confirmed by Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, following a virtual meeting with Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk this morning.
“Malaysia will continue to strengthen its commitment towards net-zero carbon emissions as early as 2050,” the Prime Minister said in a statement after the meeting. “Malaysia has a comprehensive plan and ecosystem, as well as competitive resources to support the clean energy industry including electric mobility.”
The government first announced its carbon neutrality aspirations in the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (RMK-12) roadmap.
The American EV carmaker today opened the order books for the Tesla Model Y for Malaysia, with pricing for the fully-electric crossover to start from RM199,000 for the entry-level standard range RWD variant.
An initial list of 10 Tesla Supercharger locations have also been published on the carmaker’s local website, which the company says will be “coming soon”, as part of its ‘BEV Global Leaders initiative’ agreement with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI).
The 25-minute virtual meeting was also joined by SpaceX senior director Lauren Dreyer, alongside MITI minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, and Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
Aside from Tesla discussions, the meeting also touched on SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband service, which Anwar said could boost the nation’s internet connectivity especially in rural areas, due to the minimal physical infrastructure requirements.
“The initiative could improve the ability and well-being of the people, especially from the aspects of education and agriculture technology,” he added.
