Musk-led Tesla’s move appears to be a retaliation as the Indian government has not accepted Musk’s demand to reduce import duties on Tesla vehicles, as reported by IANS.
While the Union minister continued to offer Tesla CEO Elon Musk to build electric cars in India, he was more interested in his Twitter acquisition than heeded what the Indian government has been repeating for months.
Musk’s utter apathy to several requests made by the Indian government, especially Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, comes in the wake of reports that the team he hired in India last year had Now Middle-East and Large Asia-Pacific market.
Nishant Prasad, in charge of setting up Tesla’s Supercharger network in India, has updated his LinkedIn profile to the Charging Operations Lead-APAC. Manoj Khurana, Tesla India’s first recruit responsible for public policy and business development, relocated to California last month to take on a product role.
Musk-led Tesla’s move appears to be a retaliation as the Indian government has not acceded to Musk’s demand to lower import duties on Tesla vehicles.
From Telangana Industries Minister KT Rama Rao to Maharashtra minister and state NCP president Jayant Patil, several Indian leaders have repeatedly appealed to Musk to bring Tesla to India but to no avail.
Gadkari stated last month at the Raisina Dialogue 2022 that if Musk wants to build in China and sell Tesla cars in India, “that may not be a viable proposal for India.”
“We have requested that he come to India and manufacture here.” We have no issues. Vendors are available, and we offer a wide range of technology, so Musk can save money.” India is an enormous market. Furthermore, it has excellent export potential. Musk is considering exporting Tesla vehicles from India.”
The minister reiterated his support for Tesla production in India earlier this month, saying that if Musk comes to India and builds Tesla cars there, it will benefit the electric carmaker as well.
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Earlier in February, Gadkari had said that for Tesla cars to hit the roads, Musk would first have to manufacture them in India. When asked about Tesla’s desire for a reduction in customs duty on electric vehicles, Gadkari stated that the country cannot please a single corporation.
Musk had previously stated that the government was preventing him from releasing his products in India. “Tesla has not yet arrived in India due to “government hurdles,” he wrote.
Currently, India imposes a 100 percent tax on imported cars valued above $40,000 (Rs 30 lakh), which includes insurance and shipping expenses, and a 60 percent import tax on cars less than $40,000.
With a price tag of $40,000 (over Rs 30 lakh), the Tesla Model 3 may remain an affordable model in the US, but with import duties, it will become unavailable in the Indian market with an estimated price tag of around Rs 60 lakh.
Musk has said he wants to launch the car in India, but the country’s import duty on electric vehicles is the “highest ever in the world”.
