Tesla In Talks With Govt For Setting Up Car Factory In India, EVs To Start At Rs 20 Lakh: Report

Tesla is reportedly in discussions with the Indian government regarding an investment proposal to establish a car factory in the country.

The factory would have an annual production capacity of up to 500,000 electric vehicles, Times of India reported on Thursday.

According to the report, the prices for these electric vehicles would start at Rs 20 lakh ($24,400.66).

Tesla, which has a significant presence in China, including factories - is also looking at using India as an export base as the company plans to export cars to countries in the Indo-Pacific region, ToI reported citing government sources.

The talks are being led by the Commerce and Industry Ministry and the government was hopeful of putting together a 'good deal' while maintaining a level-playing field.

This comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a meeting with Tesla CEO Elon Musk during his US visit, and urged him to make a substantial investment in India.

Musk had then said that he was a 'fan of Mr Modi' and added that the PM had been pushing him to invest in India.

"He (Mr Modi) really cares about India because he's pushing us to make significant investments in India, which is something we intend to do. We are just trying to figure out the right timing ... I am confident that Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible," Musk had said last month.