A team of executives from Tesla Inc has arrived in India to meet Government officials and discuss plan to diversify from China
Last year, Elon Musk had to put the Tesla India plans on hold after the Government of India didn’t give in to the CEO’s demand. It may be noted that Tesla demand a lower import duty on its cars priced over $40,000. Meanwhile, the demands of the Government of India from Tesla were pretty simple – invest in a local manufacturing unit. On the contrary, the Texas-based carmaker planned to understand the buyer sentiment by importing some of its cars from the USA and China.
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Elon Musk’s Renewed Interest in India
Exactly a year after putting its India plans on hold, the carmaker has proposed setting up a manufacturing facility in the country. The proposed plant will supply vehicles for the local and export operations. At the moment, the details of the proposed plant and the overall investment are yet to be made public. Local production of Tesla vehicles will align with PM Modi’s strategy to convince foreign companies to “Make in India”. Meanwhile, an Indian production plant will help the carmaker to lower the dependence on its Chinese facility. Senior executives from the American carmaker are known to have met Government officials to discuss the proposal. The carmaker has shown renewed interest in India just weeks ahead of PM Modi’s visit to the USA in June.
Nitin Gadkari on Tesla Inc
In April 2022, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, commented that Tesla’s plan of “manufacturing in China and selling in India” is unacceptable. He said, “If Elon Musk is ready to manufacture in India, we have all the competencies and technology. Our request to him is to manufacture in India. India is a huge market, we have ports here. He could make in India and export all over.”
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Tesla Executives Meet Government of India
The visiting team from Tesla Inc consists of C-suite executives and managers from the supply chain, business, and manufacturing divisions. The team is likely to reiterate Elon Musk’s demand for lowered import duties on vehicles priced above USD 40,000. The executives have also discussed the carmaker’s plans of investing in a production plant in the country. Business Today TV reports that government officials have informed Tesla that while it can sell its cars in India, there won’t be any concession in the import tariffs. This means that Tesla models priced above USD 40,000 would incur a 100 percent import duty if brought through the CBU route.
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