Elon Musk stated that Tesla has plans to expand its business and Tesla is ready to make significant investments. This comment was followed by a meeting with PM Modi during Modi’s ongoing visit to the US. Elon also mentioned they are planning to come to India “as soon as humanly possible”. This is a great news for EV lovers in India as it will take the EV boom forward in India.
Having a state-of-the-art Tesla factory in India will catapult the company to the forefront of business and technological expansion in the automobile sector especially in South-East Asia region where the Tesla’s footprint is currently smaller than compared to other countries. This can also be a huge upside in the sense that India is currently in the middle of transitioning to manufacturing its own batteries.
Elon added, “I would like to thank PM Modi for his support and hopefully, we will be able to announce something in the not-too-distant future. It is quite likely there will be a significant investment in India.”
Tesla’s factory plans in India
Last year Tesla had filled a formal request to the Central Government to reduce to import tax of imported cars which can go as high as 100% for CBUs. Central Government had denied the request as the Indian govt. wants Tesla to manufacture its cars locally rather than going the import route whereas Tesla wanted to test out the market first by selling imports.
Just a month ago, Tesla officials engaged in discussions with the central government regarding establishing a presence in India, even proposing the idea of setting up a factory for manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs) both for domestic sales and export. However, the company has yet to disclose specific details regarding the location of the factory or the exact investment involved. As further information becomes available, more clarity will emerge regarding the location, scale of Tesla’s investments and which models to be offered in India after the latest Modi and Elon Musk’s meeting.
