Tesla reveals official launch date in Malaysia

After receiving the green light to establish an office in Malaysia, Tesla is all set to officially launch on 20 July 2023 as reported by New Straits Times. 

This announcement comes four months after Malaysia’s Ministry of Trade & Industry (MITI) approved Tesla’s application to import Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) into the country. With this, Tesla can bring in Experience and Service Centres, as well as establish its Supercharger network.

The automotive company has been gearing up for its operations in the country and recently held a walk-in recruitment day in Cyberjaya, as reported by local media. Earlier this week, the company also launched an official Instagram page for its Malaysian office.

When Tesla’s expansion into Malaysia was first announced, it was noted that the launch could create skilled and better paying job opportunities for workers in the BEV segment and increase the participation of local companies in the Tesla ecosystem both domestically and globally. Tengku Zafrul Aziz, MITI Minister said at that point that the move demonstrates Tesla’s confidence in Malaysia’s economic fundamentals and conducive business environment.

He said that even as major global brands decide to invest and re-invest in Malaysia, MITI and its agencies will continue to enhance efforts to improve the ease of doing business, while continuously profiling Malaysia as "pro-trade, pro-industry and pro-investment".

“We will also strategically leverage on our established Electrical & Electronics ecosystem to make Malaysia the preferred investment destination for technology related to electric mobility,” he added.

The entry of Tesla has been facilitated by MITI through the introduction of the BEV Global Leaders initiative which aims to help boost BEV demand in the local market and further promote the development of the entire ecosystem to support BEV adoption. In addition, the initiative seeks to secure investments from leading global BEV manufacturing companies in Malaysia. Tesla is the first applicant of this initiative by MITI.

Alongside Tesla, Amazon Web Services (AWS) also has vested plans in setting up shop on Malaysia’s shores by 2037. This launch, just like Tesla’s, is expected to advance PM Anwar’s Malaysia Madani vision of a highly-skilled, prosperous and sustainable economy.

“We look forward to helping Malaysian institutions, start-ups, and companies deliver cloud-powered applications to fuel economic development across the country and to spur job creation, skills training, and educational opportunities in the communities surrounding our data centres,” said Prasad Kalayanaraman, the vice president of infrastructure services at AWS.

Moreover, the rumours of Apple setting up its first retail store in Malaysia can also be finally be laid to rest as Bloomberg recently confirmed that a retail store is set to open in The Exchange TRX in Kuala Lumpur in February 2024. These names are but a few of the many tech and data giants moving into Malaysia in the near future as the country looks to attract the likes of Microsoft and Google in a bid to become a data hub. 

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