Last weekend I went with my family to Pavilion KL to catch a glimpse of the Tesla Model Y which was launched in Malaysia on July 20, but I did not expect such a huge crowd.
They came with their families and posed for selfies and photos in front of, and inside, the electric vehicle (EV) that has elicited so much attention and expectation.
Several people signed up on the spot to buy Tesla’s maiden car in Malaysia priced at between RM199,000 and RM288,000. At RM199,000, the price of the mid-size SUV beats that of several other well-known car brands. I was told by a sales assistant that one only had to pay a RM1,000 deposit to make the booking online.
It was my son’s idea to go see the Tesla EV, although he has seen and sat in Tesla vehicles elsewhere, and I’m glad I went. Otherwise I would not have seen the excitement and joy that I saw on the faces of those at the Pavilion KL.
The excitement started long before the launch of the Model Y, when it was reported that Tesla cars would be coming to Malaysia and that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim would be chatting with Elon Musk, whose name is synonymous with the Tesla EV.
It went up a few notches when Anwar issued a statement on July 14 saying he had discussed Telsa Inc’s investment in Malaysia with its CEO Musk during a 25-minute virtual meeting. Anwar said the EV giant would establish its head office in Selangor. He also discussed bringing Starlink – another Musk company – to widen internet coverage in rural areas.
Tesla plans to establish “experience centres”, service and support facilities and charging infrastructure.
In the last two years, many Malaysians were complaining about the (previous) government missing out on bringing Tesla to Malaysia after news surfaced that the EV giant planned to set up base in Indonesia.
It is to his credit that Anwar managed to talk Musk into also investing in Malaysia, and smoothened the entry process for the US firm.
Putrajaya had earlier committed to a 15% EV target, including hybrids, in total car sales by 2030, and 38% by 2040. It is also working on developing an EV ecosystem as part of a larger plan to meet net zero emission goals by 2050.
To boost the adoption of EVs, Putrajaya is offering tax breaks to buyers. For instance, anyone buying an EV can claim income tax relief for assessment year 2023 of up to RM2,500 on expenses related to the cost of installation, rental, purchase of equipment or subscription fees for EV charging facilities.
This is on top of the full import and excise duty exemption for newly-registered completely built-up electric vehicles. Road tax is also free for EV owners.
Anwar has not just worked on getting Musk to come to Malaysia, he has also persuaded Geely to invest another RM45 billion to turn Tanjung Malim into the region’s largest auto city – which is good news for the auto industry, buyers and those seeking jobs.
I must say some of my son’s admiration for Musk has rubbed off on me. He feels Musk is an example of someone who does not just dream big but pursues it relentlessly with passion and purpose, and that he’s one cool dude.
Musk’s branding of his EV has been brilliantly done but more than the car, I feel, it is Musk the man as a brand that has captured the imagination of many.
He is not your typical CEO or company founder. In earlier decades such a man would have been disdained, not courted by world leaders. He is the epitome of brashness and hype, yet a suitable icon for the world of Instagram and Twitter and TikTok where self-publicity and image count. He has even attained superhero status in some circles.
A large part of the interest in Tesla is due to the mesmerising man himself – or perhaps the image of the mesmerising man that he has created.
But as my engineer son told me, there is vision and solid technology behind whatever Musk is doing – including Tesla, SolarCity and SpaceX. Tesla, for instance, is not just about making a stylish car – it is about providing clean transportation; and SpaceX is not just about building a starship – it’s about interplanetary travel.
The entry of Tesla into Malaysia is a good opportunity for educationists and entrepreneurship trainers to start a conversation about thinkers such as Musk and their approach to life and solving problems.
I urge the education minister to introduce modules for secondary school and university students where they will be exposed to the ideas of thinkers and doers such as Musk.
Perhaps an enterprising teacher or trainer can take students to see the Tesla Model Y and discuss how to think like Musk, while also talking about energy and related topics.
When Musk was unable to get a job, including at Netscape, he decided to start his own company. When he found that there was no available firm to launch his “greenhouse” to Mars to generate interest about space exploration, he started another company.
Malaysian youths must be encouraged to think like this and I believe using real-world examples of products and ideas and the people behind them will do more to help create a thinking population than just classroom work.
Youngsters will be more eager to learn about Musk, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Jack Ma, Mark Zuckerberg, Satya Nadella and Larry Page than simply read books on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects in the classroom.
The education ministry should use the arrival of Tesla to further boost STEM education in the country, just as it should use the arrival of other innovative products and systems that improve life or the environment.
Young people should be encouraged to not just think of completing their education in order to get a job and a good salary but rather to think about making a difference.
Musk, for instance, is on record as saying: “I didn’t go into the rocket business, the car business, or the solar business thinking this is a great opportunity. I just thought, in order to make a difference, something needed to be done. I wanted to have an impact. I wanted to create something substantially better than what came before.”
And that’s what he is doing; and we admire him for that.
Musk also has a sense of humour and a perceptive eye for marketing. My son told me that there’s a reason Musk named his Tesla models X, S, Y and 3. Musk, he said, wanted to name the Model 3 the Model E so that if you were to place all the models together you would get SEXY.
However, rival car-maker Ford already had a Model e and threatened to sue if Musk were to use the same name for his vehicle. My son also told me Musk had once joked about how Ford had killed “sex” by doing so.
I did a check. This is what CNNMoney reported Musk as saying on June 4, 2014: “A friend asked me at a party what are you going to name the third-generation car? Well we have the S and the X, so we might as well make it the E.”
However, the report said, Ford told him to stay away from using Model E or be sued. “And we’re like, Ford’s killing sex … that’s terrible. So, OK fine, we won’t use the Model E,” Musk was quoted as saying.
The brilliant Musk went on to name it the Model 3. The reason he chose 3 was because it looks like an inverted E. This is what you’d get if you were to place all four models in line: S3XY. Looks sexy enough, don’t you think?
The thing is, you can’t help but admire his guts, confidence and drive to achieve his goals; you can’t help but admire his ability to rocket towards his vision no matter how impossible it seems; and you can’t help but admire his ability to attract a coterie of investors and a multitude of fans who believe in his dreams.
And more than a few Malaysians share the dream of owning a Tesla, which will come true when the company begins delivery early next year. - FMT
The writer can be contacted at kathirasen@yahoo.com
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
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