Tesla Executives Meet Invest India Chief, Likely To Meet Minister Piyush Goyal Too — Report

Amidst Tesla's plans to establish manufacturing presence in India, the company's senior executives met with Nivruti Rai, the newly appointed CEO of Invest India, on Thursday (27 July).

They are also expected to meet with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, among other officials, in the coming days.

The Economic Times reported this development, citing sources.

The Ministries of Commerce and Industry and Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) have been discussing Tesla's plans to establish car and battery manufacturing facilities in India. These discussions began after Elon Musk met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US last month.

A source told the Economic Times that Musk had a virtual meeting with Goyal about two weeks ago. The meeting focused on how Tesla can establish a manufacturing presence in India.

Tesla, the largest electric vehicle manufacturer in the world, currently operates factories in China, Germany, the US, Canada, Mexico, and the Netherlands.

It has reportedly been in discussions with Union government officials in India. The purpose of these talks is to explore the possibility of bringing Tesla's auto parts and electronics chain to India. In addition, they are also discussing potential incentives and tax breaks.

Tesla has shown interest in establishing its own supply chain ecosystem in India. However, the government has requested the company to evaluate the existing domestic auto components supply chain. This shows that the government is keen on understanding how Tesla's entry into the market would impact the local industry.

The company has been eager to sell its cars in India, but the government has not agreed to lower the import duties. Instead, they have suggested that Tesla should consider manufacturing their cars in India. This aligns with the government's efforts to promote domestic manufacturing and boost the growing Indian market.

As part of its demands, Tesla has requested a 40 per cent import duty on fully assembled electric cars. Currently, the import duty rate stands at 60 per cent for cars priced below $40,000 and 100 per cent for those above that threshold. Tesla's proposal aims to reduce the import duty and make their cars more accessible to Indian consumers.