KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 10): A representative from Tesla's headquarters in the US will be meeting with the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) on Aug 22 to discuss the corporation's investment plans in Malaysia.

Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the previous agreement with Tesla was for it to invest in Malaysia's electric vehicle (EV) charging and research and development ecosystem as well as related sectors.

"With regard to the issue of Tesla's factory (in Thailand) that is being widely discussed, as of now, the information received was only a report from a third party and not officially from Tesla. To be fair to Tesla, they had not made any promises to open a factory here," he said.

The minister told reporters this after officiating the Mini MITIday programme and groundbreaking ceremony for the multipurpose hall built under the Kampung Angkat Madani programme in Kampung Tebuk Mufrad, Sungai Air Tawar, here on Saturday.

Tengku Zafrul said an official statement would be released following the meeting with Tesla.

"I also wish to know what their plans are. For now, Tesla's existing service centre will continue to operate as usual," he added.

To date, Tesla has set up four experience centres in Malaysia, and the automotive company said it plans to develop 52 EV charging stations in various locations throughout the Klang Valley, Johor, Melaka, Penang and Pahang.

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