(Original title: Korean President’s Office: Tesla will expand cooperation with South Korea, Musk plans to build another factory in Asia)
November 23 news from the Financial Associated Press (edited by Zhou Ziyi)Tesla CEO Elon Musk expressed his willingness to expand cooperation with South Korean companies in the supply chain, according to South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue’s office on Wednesday.
According to South Korea’s presidential office, Musk held an online meeting with Yoon Suk-yue. at the meeting,Musk reveals plans to build another Tesla Gigafactory in Asia。
At present, Tesla’s main factory in Asia is located in Shanghai, China. The production capacity of the Shanghai factory has recently doubled. In August, the factory also reached the milestone of rolling off the 1 millionth vehicle.
Musk expressed his willingness to actively invest in South Korea’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure and significantly expand supply chain cooperation with South Korean companies. Musk expects auto parts purchases from South Korean companies to grow to at least $10 billion by 2023.
Musk also said that he will make an investment decision after comprehensively evaluating investment conditions such as manpower and technology.
The above statements all come from the Office of the President of South Korea, and Tesla has not yet responded.
Basis for cooperation
LG Energy Solution Ltd. is Tesla’s long-term battery supplier, and Tesla already buys many auto parts from LG.
Jeon Hyeyoung, an analyst at South Korea’s Daol Investment & Securities Co., said last month that LG Energy’s outlook is positive, partly due to ramping up output at Tesla’s Shanghai plant.
LG Energy said in June that it would spend $452 million to build a 4680 battery production line. Following LG Energy, Samsung SDI is also considering building a new 4680 battery production line to supply to Tesla and others.
The 4680 battery is Tesla’s third-generation battery product, a cylindrical battery with a larger size, lower cost, and higher energy density. Tesla has claimed that a new generation of batteries is the key to unlocking cheaper and more widespread electric vehicles.
South Korea sees electric vehicles, rechargeable batteries and semiconductors as key drivers of South Korea’s economic growth. There are two large automakers in South Korea – Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, as well as battery manufacturers LG Energy, SK On, Samsung SDI and others.
South Korea is not the first country in Asia to “throw an olive branch” to Musk. Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in August that he wanted Tesla to produce electric vehicles in Indonesia, not just batteries. Widodo also expressed his willingness to spend time convincing Musk.