Photos of the founder of Tesla and Starlink in a traditional Balinese shirt and a frangipani necklace have already gone viral. Elon Musk has had a batik shirt for some time and even wore it when participating in major forums held on the island via video conference. But now, Elon Musk is finally in Bali in person.
On the day of his arrival, he participated with the country's president, Joko Widodo, in the opening of the World Water Forum and admired Bali's nature: "I am amazed by the mangrove trees and the vast amount of greenery around, it’s really cool," said one of the richest people on the planet.
Musk did not forget to make a few compliments to the organizers of the World Water Forum who invited him: "This is an important event for the whole world, for all of us. It turns out, I didn’t know much about water and the problems we have."
Then, the founder of Tesla focused on the main reason for his visit — testing the Starlink internet service, which was officially installed at the Sumerta Kload community health center in Denpasar.
"Starlink is intended for healthcare, and I think it can be transformed for education. If you have access to the internet, you can learn anything," said Elon Musk after connecting his internet service.
"If you have goods or services that you want to sell to the world, even if you are in a remote village, do it with an internet connection. This can bring great prosperity, and with internet connectivity, you can learn at any time," Musk believes that the development of fast internet can have a significant impact on the region's economy.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi, who accompanied the American billionaire to the medical center, explained that internet access is crucial for providing medical services to the population. This is especially relevant for remote areas where the signal is currently very weak. Out of 10,000 public health centers across Indonesia, about 2,600 do not have stable internet access, and around 700 are not connected at all.
"Our task is to fix this. We aim to optimize digital medical services with Starlink internet access. We hope this will allow us to develop telemedicine so that qualified doctors can consult online with residents of the most remote villages," said Budi Gunadi.
Starlink has been launched in three Indonesian medical centers, including two in Bali and one on the remote Aro Island in Maluku. The video presentation shown at the launch demonstrated how high internet speeds enable real-time data entry for more effective resolution of health issues such as stunting and malnutrition.
When asked if he also plans to invest in Indonesia's electric vehicle industry, Musk said he is primarily focused on Starlink. "We are focusing on Starlink and the benefits that fast internet connectivity brings to remote islands," he said. "I think it is really important; good internet access can save lives."
The Indonesian government has been trying for many years to persuade the founder of Tesla to build electric vehicle factories in the country. The authorities aimed to develop their electric vehicle sector by utilizing Indonesia’s rich nickel resources. However, given the timing of the World Water Forum, Elon Musk had no chance to avoid discussing environmental issues. The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment of Indonesia, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, invited him to contribute to the efforts to restore Indonesia’s mangrove forests, which had so impressed the billionaire.
Luhut and Musk discussed the launch of the Starship rocket, with the minister offering a launch site for SpaceX in Biak, Papua. Luhut said, “Another topic I discussed was mangrove forests. I said you always talk about rockets and so on, but you should also talk about climate change, and one issue is mangrove forests.” He added that Indonesia has a program to restore mangrove ecosystems across 600,000 hectares in various regions. The first phase involved replanting 200,000 hectares, and this process continues today. Musk confirmed that Tesla also cares about the environment. In response, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries invited the head of SpaceX to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the International Mangrove Research Center in the Kura-Kura special economic zone.
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