Sao Tome, June 17, 2025 (Lusa) - The government of Sao Tome and Principe today accused Tesla STP of bad faith in the negotiations, arguing that the Turkish company failed to fulfil its obligations regarding the supply of energy, as demonstrated in the conclusions of the Court of Auditors.
"The government believes that Tesla's current position does not reflect contractual good faith, especially given its full knowledge of the content and conclusions of the Court of Auditors," reads a statement in response to Tesla's announcement on Monday that it will cut off the energy supply due to a debt of 7.5 million euros.
In a lengthy response in which it presents its version of the communications and regrets the company's lack of response, the government recalls that the process began on 18 March, when it “received a formal communication from Tesla STP, notifying that, to avoid the immediate suspension of the country's electricity supply, a payment of €1.5 million would have to be made by 00:00 on 1 April 2025”.
The government explains that it paid this amount at the end of March, but received a new communication on 8 May demanding a further payment of €1.5 million by 1 June.
"Given that the Court of Auditors was carrying out a successive inspection/audit of the terms of the aforementioned contract under Law no. 9/2023 (Temporary Law on Tax Incentives and Benefits), which supported the aforementioned contract, the government delayed the second payment as demanded by Tesla, with a deadline of 1 June," the government said.
After several requests for payment, and "having not reacted to the company in response to the government's request to sit down at the negotiating table", last week the government made another attempt at "dialogue and mutual cooperation".
The company responded, lamenting the government, with the "decision to suspend the supply of energy from 00:00 on 19 June 2025, justifying that it did not feel obliged to negotiate based on the Court of Auditors' conclusions, as it considered that this entity had misinterpreted certain contractual clauses".
The government concluded that the company "maintained an inflexible stance and lacked a spirit of co-operation".
On Monday, Lusa reported that the Turkish company Tesla STP announced it would cease operations in the energy sector in São Tomé and Principe from Thursday, citing a €7.5 million debt owed by the state.
The company signed a public-private partnership (PPP) with the São Toméan state in October 2023 "to provide short and long-term solutions" for the country's energy sector and transform it into a more sustainable and green sector.
However, after completing the first of the project's three phases, Tesla STP said that it “was forced to stop operations in Sao Tome and Principe as of 00:00 on 19 June” due to non-compliance with “the requirements” expressed in the signed agreement on the part of the Sao Tome state, which it accuses of being in debt to the tune of €7.5 million.
The company said that it had "held three high-level meetings since the beginning of 2025 and has written 14 letters since 2024, reminding the Ministry of Infrastructure and Natural Resources of its financial obligations and requesting that the necessary actions be taken for the start of investments in the second and third phases".
However, the entity said it had received a letter from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Natural Resources, dated 9 June, in which it was informed that the ministry wanted "a renegotiation of the contract and that no financial or contractual decisions" would be taken until the renegotiation process had been completed.
MBA/ADB // ADB.
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