Anwar Ibrahim has faced a barrage of cynical comments from Malaysians on social media after it was revealed that Tesla, the electric vehicles giant owned by Elon Musk who the prime minister repeatedly mentioned in speeches and election campaign programmes last year, is not investing in the country.

But while Malaysia is not the only country Tesla is not interested in - the others being Thailand and Indonesia - it was Anwar's behaviour of "bending over backwards" and building momentum over Musk's interest in Malaysia that infuriated social media users.

Among other things, the government has exempted Tesla from the approved permit (AP) requirement for selling foreign cars in Malaysia.

"This should be much bigger news: the Malaysian government got absolutely conned by Elon Musk, bending over backwards for him in embarrassingly sycophantic ways (to an audience that doesn’t even admire Musk), giving Tesla undeserved privileges, only to get jack shit in return," read a reader's comment on popular automotive website Paultan.org, responding to news that Tesla is abandoning plans to set up EV factories in the region.

Another reader accused Anwar of misleading Malaysians when he "shouted about Tesla investments here".

"For this obvious lie he needs to step down. Many other honourable leaders and presidents have done the same, so must PMX," said Lol Whut, referring to Anwar.

Just a few months after taking office, Anwar made Musk and his business empire a central theme in his speeches to convince Malaysians that the government would attract quality investments.

Anwar was also seen building momentum for a "meeting" with Musk, saying that the billionaire entrepreneur had asked to speak to him. 

The meeting turned out to be a video call, with Anwar himself leading the 25-minute "discussion" in which internet users scrutinised Musk's online activity during the session. 

It turned out that during the 25-minute session, Musk was busy replying to tweets on unrelated topics, none of which had anything to do with his meeting with the Malaysian prime minister.

"He was clearly bored with the conversation as he tweeted; timestamps do not lie," software engineer Colin Charles told MalaysiaNow at the time, comparing Musk's behaviour during the meeting with Anwar to the way Musk lauded President Joko Widodo during their meeting months earlier.

Musk's seeming indifference, however, did not deter Anwar from giving business to Starlink, another company under him providing satellite-based internet connection.

At the end of the meeting, Anwar decided to purchase 40 Starlink internet devices to be installed in universities across the country, a move criticised not only because of the way the order was placed, but also over the competitiveness in both quality and price of the US satellite internet service provider compared to local internet services.

This was followed by Putrajaya granting Starlink a 10-year licence to operate in Malaysia, exempting the company from a requirement for a 49% threshold for foreign equity.

The latest development that Tesla was abandoning Malaysia and other neighbouring countries was first reported by Thailand's English-language daily The Nation.

"Tesla is currently only discussing charging stations, with the factory plans suspended not just in Thailand but worldwide. They are not proceeding in Malaysia, Indonesia, or anywhere else except for China, America, and Germany," the paper said quoting a source.

Malaysians reacting to the news could not help but recall the momentum Anwar had built up when he frequently mentioned Musk's name during his campaign speeches for elections in six states last year.

Others, however, reacted with sarcasm.

"I believe this is a fake news. The PMO should summon The Nation and ask for explanations about their sources," wrote one reader in the comments section of pro-Pakatan Harapan news site Malaysiakini.

Another comment said, "I think the real issue is the blowing your trumpet and hot air boasting that our attentionseeking PM excels in. It is unwise to announce something that was a long shot anyway. Surely PM and his team of experts and advisers must have told him?"

On X, user Batu Bata said: "If only the announcement of Tesla coming in to Malaysia previously was not done with great gusto and glee as if it was such a magnificent achievement by the PM."

But Dewa Said replied: "Since when did Tesla announce that they are planning to open a factory in Malaysia?"

A popular X account critical of the government summarises:

"After getting exemptions from local ownership laws, Tesla finally confirms it will not open a factory in Malaysia," a post on Naratif Rakyat reads.

"In the end, Tesla got to open a showroom to import cars built entirely in China to be sold to Malaysians."

https://www.malaysianow.com/news/2024/08/08/after-tesla-confirms-its-not-coming-malaysians-reflect-on-anwars-enthusiasm-for-elon-musk