Earlier this year we told you about Indonesia’s attempt to lure Tesla to build a battery factory in Central Java, which is known to have one of the largest nickel reserves in the world.
Less than a month later Indonesian President Joko Widodo revealed he was sending a senior delegation to the US to meet with executives from Tesla.
It appears as though those meetings caught the automaker’s attention. According to Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs, Tesla is sending their own team to Indonesia next month to look at potential investments.
Not only does Indonesia want Musk to bring Tesla to the country, they are also now pitching Indonesia as a potential launch site for SpaceX rockets.
“President Joko Widodo invites [Musk] to look into Indonesia as a launching pad for SpaceX,” the ministry said (via BBC).
Indonesia’s National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) has plans to build its first spaceport in Biak, on the island of Papua. To do so, it needs international investors, of which SpaceX is one such partner it could approach.
