By the end of the year, Elon Musk will probably decide on a new location for a Tesla plant, and if all goes according to plan, India will play a significant role in his plan.
Musk said “absolutely” when asked in a Wall Street Journal interview whether India is a compelling site for a new Tesla facility.
Musk chose Mexico as the site of the following Tesla Gigafactory in March of this year. In the US, Tesla operates many facilities, one of which is in Fremont, California. The manufacturer of electric vehicles has plants close to Shanghai, China, and Berlin, Germany.
A team of senior Tesla officials is apparently planning to travel to India to investigate joining the specialized EV market and expanding its presence outside of China, according to reports that appeared earlier this month.
According to a Bloomberg article quoting sources, the subject of the meetings with top India leadership was the potential for locally sourcing parts for Tesla’s vehicle models.
Musk frequently claims that the government made it difficult for him to introduce his products in India. Due to “challenges with the government,” Tesla isn’t yet in India, as he had previously reported.
The team he brought on board in India in 2021 was redirected last year to concentrate on the Middle East and the bigger Asia-Pacific regions.
Musk received many requests to introduce Tesla to India from prominent Indian officials, but to no effect.
Although India has the “highest import duties in the world by far” on EVs, Musk has stated that he still plans to introduce automobiles there.
