Amid accusations that Tesla’s senior management was leaving India due to an impasse with the government over lowering import tariffs, the company’s Supremo has finally spoken out on the matter, using Twitter. Elon Musk responded to a fan who asked about his plans to build a manufacturing plant in India and produce electric cars there, stating ‘Tesla will not put a manufacturing plant in any location where we are not allowed first to sell & service cars’.
Tesla will not put a manufacturing plant in any location where we are not allowed first to sell & service cars
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 27, 2022
The retort was a jab at the Indian government, which is pressuring Musk to build vehicles in India to take advantage of duty breaks.
Elon Musk, who has been trying to break into the Indian market since 2016 and has even taken reservations for some of his electric vehicles, has stated that the US-based company plans to first enter India with imported vehicles, establish a base, and then look for opportunities to manufacture cars in India. However, India’s hefty automotive import charges are delaying the introduction of the world’s most valuable auto brand.
The government wants Tesla in India, but Nitin Gadkarri, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, has already stated that the government will not go out of its way to decrease import taxes or enable Tesla to sell China-made cars in India. Tesla now produces automobiles in two locations: the United States and Shanghai, China. Given the distance, it appears that Tesla will import automobiles from China in order to reach the Indian market in the future.
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