Bengaluru, July 13: Tesla has started discussions with the Indian government for an investment proposal to set up a car factory in the country with an annual capacity of 500,000 electric vehicles, The Times of India reported on Thursday.
The price of the electric vehicles will start from 2 million rupees ($24,400.66), the report said. But no official information has come out from the Tesla company. In a meeting with Musk last month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked the Tesla owner to invest heavily in the country
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The billionaire Elon Musk-led company is looking to tap India as an export source as it plans to export cars to countries in the Indo-Pacific region, the report said citing government sources.
Tesla has come to us with an ambitious plan. We are confident that this time the investment will be positive. Especially it involves both local production and export. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is negotiating. A source said the government hopes to put together a good deal while maintaining a level playing field.
On Tesla’s plans to invest in India, CEO Elon Musk said during a high-profile visit to the US last month that he was a fan of Modi. He said that the Prime Minister is urging him to invest in India.
He (Modi) really cares about India. They are forcing us to make significant investments in India. We are trying to figure out the right time. India will do it as soon as humanly possible, Musk had said on June 21.
Talks were held with the government in May when a Tesla company team visited India a month before Modi’s visit. Tesla’s potential investment in India is seen as part of the company’s global strategy to diversify its manufacturing bases beyond China.
Musk, however, remains bullish on Asian manufacturing giant China. Now if the factory proposal goes ahead it will give a big boost to the government’s ‘Make in India’ scheme, with Apple’s vendors investing heavily in domestic manufacturing and using the country as a base for exports.