Tesla CEO says he would love to set up shop in India this year, if not this year, then definitely next year.
The government has been wooing Tesla to set up a factory in India but Elon Musk had pointed to some challenging government regulations as a hurdle in a May 2018 Tweet. He had sought a temporary waiver on import penalties and other restrictions until a local facility is built a year back.
Nearly a year after he blamed restrictive policy for delaying the carmaker’s entry into the world’s fourth-largest automobile market, Musk said that he would love to make an entry this year or definitely in 2020 in a Twitter post.
While India is a promising market for electric vehicle makers, it has lagged far behind neighbouring China, afflicted by minimal government support for cleaner technology and unavailability of charging stations. Musk also blamed the FDI norms for delaying the electric car maker’s entry into the Indian market. Earlier this year, Tesla’s Indian-origin Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja announced his retirement from the firm, thus applying brakes on Musk’s dreams.
Tesla made news in January on a 5 billion dollar factory in China, its first car-manufacturing facility outside the US, after four years of planning. Tapping overseas markets may help the US-based automaker stave off a potential dip in demand on its home turf.
Tesla was expected to enter India in 2017 with the Model 3 that sells for nearly $35,000 (Rs. 24 lakhs).
Tesla India Entry
– Tesla Model 3 was expected to enter India originally in 2017
– Elon Musk blamed the FDI norms for the delay
– The billionaire carmaker made news in a tweet about Tesla coming to India in 2019 or 2020
