Tesla Electric Car Battery Becomes Topic in the Indonesian VP Debate

Jakarta – In the 2024 Vice Presidential debate, one of the discussed topics was the battery used by the United States-based electric car company, Tesla.

Vice Presidential candidate number 2, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, asked Vice Presidential candidate number 1, Muhaimin Iskandar, about LFP, also known as lithium ferrophosphate.

Gibran mentioned Thomas Lembong, a member of the campaign team for Anis Bawsedan and Muhaimin Iskandar often discusses LFP as a substitute for nickel-based electric vehicle batteries.

"Tesla still uses nickel," Gibran stated in Jakarta on Sunday.

Based on Tesla's official website, it is known that the company founded by Elon Musk still uses nickel as the raw material for manufacturing their electric car batteries.

According to data in Tesla Master Plan Part 3 published last year, it is mentioned that nickel will continue to be used in several Tesla vehicle models.

The mentioned vehicle types still use minerals abundant in Indonesia, ranging from commercial vehicles, large sedans, SUVs, trucks, to long-distance cargo transport vehicles.

Then, as quoted from the Electrek site, in 2021 Elon Musk expressed concerns about the long-term availability of nickel, which later prompted Tesla to consider LFP as a material for future batteries. LFP is not a newcomer.

These batteries are cheaper and cobalt-free, making them an attractive choice for more affordable Tesla models.

However, the lower energy density and power of LFP previously limited its use. The good news is that Elon believes LFP technology has rapidly advanced, making it suitable for Tesla vehicles.

This shift has already begun. Gigafactory Shanghai has been producing the Model 3 Standard Range Plus with LFP since October 2020, even serving as the base model for it in Europe and other countries.