The government is waiting for word from Tesla as to whether it will scrap its plan to invest in Thailand, according to government spokesman Chai Wacharonke.
The US-based electric vehicle maker has been reassessing its global investment strategy in the face of slowing sales growth and fierce competition, mainly from Chinese EV makers.
Media reports have indicated that the company is looking to focus on its existing major production bases in the US, China and Germany.
“Tesla is reviewing its investment plans worldwide, not just in Thailand,” Mr Chai said on Tuesday.
“However, there has been no confirmation [about halting the investment plan in Thailand] from the company. It’s been reported in the news. We’re waiting to hear from them.”
Tesla said in April that it would use its existing factories to build new and more affordable vehicles, leaving investments in proposed new sites in Mexico and India unlikely in the near term.
Indonesia, meanwhile, is still waiting to hear from Tesla about a planned EV battery manufacturing plant. The two sides signed an agreement in 2022 under which Tesla would source as much as $5 billion worth of nickel from the country for use in EV batteries.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin first broke the news about Tesla’s interest in Thailand after meeting with CEO Elon Musk on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last September.
Mr Srettha toured Tesla’s Fremont factory in California in November, where he reportedly persuaded Tesla to invest in Thailand.
He also invited Tesla’s deputy chief of investment to visit an industrial estate in the Eastern Economic Corridor and attend Loy Krathong celebrations in Chiang Mai later that same month.
However, the South China Morning Post reported on Friday that Tesla no longer appears to be interested in planned investments in Thailand or Malaysia.
In Thailand, it was reported that Tesla had decided to invest only in EV charging stations.
Mr Srettha said after Tuesday’s cabinet meeting that he had no knowledge of reports that Tesla may have decided against investing in Thailand.
All he was aware of, he said, was that teams from the government and the company were still in talks about a business plan.
The premier said he understood that when he first talked with Tesla, the company was attracted to India’s vast market, but that Thailand seemed a likely location for a production plant.