Tesla aims to build a new factory in India that would produce about 500,000 units of a ~$24,000 electric car, according to a local report.
In 2021, it looked like Tesla was ready to enter the Indian market, the biggest auto market in which the automaker has yet to operate, but the plan fell through as Tesla couldn’t agree with the government about building a factory in the country rather than first importing its vehicles.
Tesla’s India plan was on hold for years, but the company appears to have renewed its effort recently.
In May, Tesla sent a team to talk to officials in India, and according to a local report, Tesla has agreed to build a factory in India to enter the market.
Last month, CEO Elon Musk met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US, and after the meeting, the CEO said that Tesla would be making an investment in India “as soon as humanly possible.”
Now a new report from Times of India citing government sources released more alleged details about Tesla’s plan in India.
The publication claimed that Tesla is looking to build a factory producing 500,000 units of a new ~$24,000 electric car in the country:
After years of dilly-dallying, Elon Musk’s Tesla has opened discussions with the Indian government for an investment proposal to set up a car factory in the country with an annual capacity of as many as 5 lakh electric vehicles with prices beginning from Rs 20 lakh.
Rs 20 lakh is about $24,350. Tesla has been rumored to be working on a cheaper electric car based on its next-generation platform.
The automaker plans to build it at Gigafactory Shanghai and its upcoming new factory in Mexico, but it would also make sense to produce it at a potential Indian factory for the local market.
According to the report, Tesla would also produce vehicles at the Indian factory for exports in the Indo-Pacific region.