Dozens of non-governmental organisations have sent an open letter to Elon Musk, urging the Tesla Inc's chief to not invest in Indonesia's nickel industry on environmental concerns.
Indonesia has the world's biggest nickel reserves and Widodo is keen to develop a nickel-based EV industry at home. The government banned export of unprocessed nickel ore from 2020 to ensure supply for investors. The NGOs said in the letter that environmental damage results from the total area of the forest converted to nickel mining, causing increased deforestation and the threats of polluted water in the river, lake, and the beach.Elon Musk’s tweet saying Japan would ’eventually cease to exist’ provokes anger - but not just at him
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Indonesian government was not available for comment outside regular hours.