Tesla Sets Sights on India: To Scout Sites For $3 Billion Electric Car Plant Amid Policy Shift

US electric car maker Tesla Motors will send a team to scout locations in India for a proposed $2-3 billion electric car plant this month, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Tesla team would focus on states with existing automotive hubs, including Maharashtra and Gujarat in the west and Tamil Nadu in the south, the report said.

The company's reported push towards making electric vehicles (EV) in India comes after New Delhi last month released a new EV policy lowering duty for a limited number of EV imports for companies that commit to making them in the country within three years.

The policy is being seen as targeted at facilitating Tesla’s entry into India as the carmaker had been lobbying for tariff cuts as a precondition to investing in manufacturing operations in the country.

However, the main focus of Elon Musk's company will be on the other three states with ports, facilitating car exports, according to the report.

“One of the people familiar with Tesla’s plans said the company was considering beginning with a $2-3 billion investment in the Indian car plant. Suppliers would invest billions of dollars more, making this one of India’s biggest inward foreign investments,” it said. 

The company expected the factory to reach production of as many as 500,000 cars a year when it reached full capacity, FT said quoting sources.