Elon Musk to meet PM….
Tesla’s proposed electric vehicle plant in India seems to be gaining momentum, as Elon Musk is visiting India to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi next month. Plans to invest in a new Tesla car factory in India will be announced during the visit, according to a Reuters report citing two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Musk will meet PM Modi in the week starting April 22 and will separately announce his company’s plans for India. According to the report, the Tesla CEO will also be accompanied by other officials during his visit. However, the sources did not reveal the detailed agenda of the visit as they are confidential.
Reuters said PM Modi’s office and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. According to the report, if this visit happens, it will take place in the midst of the Lok Sabha elections, after which PM Modi is going to return for the third term.
Confirming the visit, Elon Musk tweeted on Wednesday night (India time), “Looking forward to meeting with Prime Minister @narendramodi in India!”
The report of Elon Musk’s visit to India comes amid speculations that Tesla is in talks with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries for a joint venture to set up EV plants in India. According to a report by The Hindu Business Line today quoting sources, talks for a joint venture between billionaires Elon Musk and Mukesh Ambani are currently in the early stages.
Notably, last week the Financial Times reported that Tesla is sending a team to India to scout a location for an upcoming plant. The report claims that the company is focusing on states that already have automobile manufacturing hubs and ports to facilitate exports, and as a result, states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are on high priority for the company. .
Tesla is expected to invest USD 2 to 3 billion in its Indian operations. Apart from the car plant, the company will also set up a gigafactory to make batteries.
Notably, although Tesla has been planning to enter the Indian market for years, it could not do so due to high import duties on cars. However, the company resumed talks with the Indian government last year. The talks gained momentum after PM Modi met Elon Musk in New York during his US visit in June last year.
After the meeting, Musk had said, “I am planning to visit India next year.” I am confident that Tesla will be in India and we will do it as soon as humanly possible. I would like to thank PM Modi for his support and hopefully we will be able to announce something in the future.
Tesla’s Indian entry has been confirmed after the Indian government reduced the import duty on electric vehicles to just 15%. The Modi government announced a new EV policy last month, saying it will allow automakers to import 8,000 EVs priced at $35,000 or more every year at an import duty of 15%, up from 70% earlier. Was. However, the carmaker will have to commit to investing at least $500 million in India over the next three years.
Before building its plant in India, Tesla has started producing right-hand drive cars at its plant in Germany for export to India later this year, a Reuters report said earlier this week. The company will start its Indian business with imported cars as production of cars will take time. Although it has not been confirmed which model will be imported into India, the Berlin plant only makes the Model Y.
The choice of the Berlin plant to make cars for India is significant, as Tesla already makes right-hand drive cars for right-hand drive countries like the UK, Australia and Japan at its much larger Shanghai plant in China. The company started manufacturing RHD cars in Berlin specifically for India. One of the points that blocked Tesla’s entry into India for many years was the Modi government’s insistence that the company could not import cars into the country from China.
It was previously reported that Tesla would introduce a new low-cost car aimed at developing markets such as India and Brazil, although Reuters reported this week that the company has canceled that proposal. The company was planning a new car for $25,000 i.e. about Rs 21 lakh. The report said that increasing competition from cheap Chinese EVs prompted the decision.
Currently the cheapest Tesla model is the Model 3 sedan, which costs around $39,000 in the United States, which is equivalent to approximately ₹32.5 lakh. The Model Y has a retail price of more than $45,000, while the Model S and Model The price of the newly launched Cybertruck ranges from $80,000 to above $100,000.