Elon Musk’s electric car Tesla will be produced in India. Tesla Inc. has already proposed setting up a factory in India for domestic sales and exports.
According to sources close to the matter, the US carmaker informed the Indian government officials about this on Wednesday.
Last year, Tesla asked India to reduce car import taxes. The Indian government then rejected the proposal. The South Asian country wanted Tesla to start manufacturing cars locally in India. Tesla’s attempt, in contrast, was to test the market by first importing cars. Due to differences of opinion between the two parties, a deadlock was created in the discussion at one stage. However, this time, billionaire Elon Musk’s company is interested in expanding its factory operations in India.
According to media reports, however, Tesla has not discussed the import tax with Indian officials this time, instead proposing to set up a new factory. It was not specified where in India the factory would be located or how much would be invested in it.
Western companies, including Tesla, are keen to diversify their supply chains outside of China. Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign is trying to attract foreign companies to manufacture cars locally.
Senior executives are said to be in India this week to discuss local sourcing of parts and other issues and meet with the government. However, till the writing of the report, no comment was received from Tesla. Source: Reuters
