Although Tesla does not have a global presence like Toyota (the world’s top-selling carmaker in 2022), it is still a world leader in as far as battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are concerned. While BYD Auto’s total sales of almost 1.9 million electrified vehicles in 2022 were higher than Tesla’s 1.3 million+ units, around 50% of the Chinese carmaker’s numbers were hybrids whereas Tesla sells only BEVs.

Nevertheless, Tesla has been steadily expanding its global footprint since first marketing BEVs four years ago. Apart from North America, it has covered much of Europe and has been looking at the Asia-Pacific region in the past couple of years. It began official sales in Singapore in mid-2021 and started up in Thailand this year.

Meanwhile, Malaysian EV enthusiasts have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the brand officially. While limited numbers have been sold by private importers, the absence of an official presence has meant that aftersales support – a vital part of ownership – is not readily available. This can be a risk to owners, especially for a high-tech product like a BEV. When there is official presence, such as an authorized distributor if not a subsidiary of the manufacturer itself (eg BMW Malaysia and Mercedes-Benz Malaysia), there is not only assured service and spare parts support but also direct access to the technical people to get assistance.

Now it seems that Tesla could soon be starting to official sell its cars in Malaysia. Although it has had a subsidiary in Penang handling back office operations (finance, accounting etc) since 2017, it has not done any retail sales. The buzz on social media, especially in EV-related groups, is that there has been a move to change the name of the Penang unit, originally known as Tesla Services Sdn Bhd, to just Tesla Sdn Bhd. A screenshot shared on many social media groups shows that the SSM (Malaysian Registrar of Companies) had confirmed the name-change last October.