Rudi Salim

Brave dreamer

RUDY SALIM IS the 30-year-old entrepreneur who has brought luxury all-electric cars to Indonesia. His company, Pluit-based Prestige Image Motorcars, is the importer of the US-built Tesla Model X in the country. The US$200,000-plus supercar comes standard with all-wheel drive, seating for up to seven adults and up to 295 miles of range on a single charge. It’s claimed to be the quickest SUV in production, capable of accelerating from zero to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds. Among other exotic dream cars, his company also offers the Koenigsegg CCX, a handsome Swedish midengined sports car with a carbon fibre chassis.

He comes from a family of doctors, but Salim decided that entrepreneurship was to be his mission in life after dropping out of university. At the age of 23, he launched Excel Trade Indonesia, an online credit business. Three years later, he founded Prestige. Other companies in the group include food and beverage outlets. “Even though Excel Trade was one of my first ventures as an entrepreneur, my interests in automotive, real estate and retail spurred me to embrace my passions by creating these smaller companies,” says Salim.

Rudy believes a business dream is not sufficient on its own without courage. “Sometimes people get caught up in their dreams instead of turning them into a reality. This is where courage comes in,” says the father of three. “With courage and dreams comes ambition. Combine these with the stubbornness of hard work and your dream will become a reality.”

His dermatologist mother, Dr. Sari, is Rudy’s mentor. “She exemplifies hard work with sheer determination by giving everything to her profession. That’s the benchmark she has subconsciously ingrained into my mind, and it’s a standard I hope to reach someday.”