After Elon Musk tweets about India challenges faced by Tesla, CEO gets offers from 3 states

Electric vehicles (EV) are the future of automobiles in India. That is a given. There are various reasons for that including increasing air pollution. The central government along with the state governments have been trying to give a boost to electric vehicles in the country to ease the grave situation. However, the biggest, and arguably, the best electric car manufacturer, has been missing in action here. We are talking about the Elon Musk led Tesla. The reason behind this, according to Elon Musk’s tweet, are the challenges posed by the central government that Tesla faces in setting up a factory in India. 

The CEO says the taxes on imported vehicles are too high to make it worth his while to bring Tesla cars to India. Musk responded to a tweet from a person asking him if there is any update as to when Tesla’s will launch in India. Responding to it, Elon Musk said that he is still facing a lot of ‘challenges’ with the government. “Still working through a lot of challenges with the government,” Musk tweeted. 

India currently imposes customs duty ranging between 60-100 percent on imported cars. Import duty of 100 percent is imposed on fully imported cars with CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) value over USD 40,000, 60 percent duty is imposed on cars that cost less than the amount.

As per a report by HT Auto, only the Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus is priced below USD 40,000. Because of this, if Tesla has to import Model 3 to India via completely built unit route, it is expected to cost roughly around ₹70 lakh.

However, Elon’s tweet has elicited a quick response from certain states in India, even as the central government is yet to respond. These states are Telangana, Maharashtra, and West Bengal, and they have invited Musk to set up a Tesla factory in their states.

Maharashtra’s Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil in reply to Musk’s tweet of still working through a lot of challenges… said that the state will provide him all the necessary help to get established in India.

“.@elonmusk, Maharashtra is one of the most progressive states in India. We will provide you all the necessary help from Maharashtra for you to get established in India. We invite you to establish your manufacturing plant in Maharashtra,” he tweeted.

The West Bengal government too replied saying that Bengal means Business and the state has the best infrastructure. West Bengal minister Md Ghulam Rabbani tweeted, “Drop here, we in West Bengal have best infra & our leader @MamataOfficial has got the vision. Bengal means Business …”

However, it was the Telangana government that started the ball rolling, becoming the first to respond to Elon’s tweet. It showed interest in partnering Tesla in working through the challenges to set shop in Telangana. 

“Hey Elon, I am the Industry & Commerce Minister of Telangana state in India Will be happy to partner Tesla in working through the challenges to set shop in India/Telangana Our state is a champion in sustainability initiatives & a top notch business destination in India,” Minister KT Rama Rao wrote on Twitter.