Within few weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US visit and a meeting with Tesla CEO Elon Musk during that visit, the discussions of setting up a Tesla base in India have again started and this time its more concrete, if reports are to be believed.
After China, Tesla is looking to turn India into an export base to serve markets in the Indo-Pacific region, the reports said.
According to the Economic Times, Tesla has been meeting with industry executives in India in addition to interacting with the government.
The plan is to set up a factory in India with a yearly capacity of 5 lakh EV units. The price tag could start from "as low as" Rs 20 lakh for a car, said Economic Times citing a report by Times of India.
India's commerce and industry ministry is leading the discussions. The government expecting to materialize a 'good deal' while maintaining a level-playing field.
At a recent event sponsored by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in New Delhi, Tesla stated that its planning to bring its own suppliers to India, as the company prefers a “all in-house” strategy.
Musk admitted that, "I am a fan of Modi," in a video interview published on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official YouTube page. Musk had revealed after his meeting with the PM Modi that the Prime Minister had been pushing him to raise his bet on India.
"He (Mr Modi) really cares about India because he's pushing us to make significant investments in India, which is something we intend to do. We are just trying to figure out the right timing... I am confident that Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible," Musk had said on June 21.
Tesla's dialogue with the government restarted in May when a team from the company visited India ahead of Modi's visit.
During the talks and further discussions after the month of May, representatives from Tesla in the United States and Tesla India enquired about the incentives framework for the company and its partners, with the goal of establishing a manufacturing unit in India as well as the necessary supported ecosystem.
Advertisements