Elon Musk Refuses To Start Manufacturing In India: First They Want To Sell & Service Cars In India Before Manufacturing

What comes to a shocker for India, is a tweet by Elon Musk.

For the unaware, the EV leader and former world’s richest man showed interest in setting up a manufacturing plant in India.

No Plant if No Sales & Services : Tesla CEO

However, Elon Musk has said in a tweet that the company shall not manufacture cars in India if the company is not allowed to sell as well as provide services to its EV cars.

Speaking about the Starlink, Musk said that the company is still waiting for the Indian government’s approval.

While responding to a twitter user about the update on Tesla’s manufacturing plant in India, late on Friday, Elon Musk tweeted that “Tesla will not put a manufacturing plant in any location where we are not allowed first to sell and service cars”.

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, has in the past urged Elon Musk to set up a manufacturing plant in India.

A team was also hired by Musk to focus on India, currently the team has been diverted to focus on the Middle-East and the larger Asia-Pacific markets.

This update from Elon Musk comes as a retaliation to the Indian government not accepting the demands of Musk for reducing the import duties.

Series Of Events

Let’s get the unaware up to speed about the whole development. 

1. Several Indian leaders right from Telangana Minister for Industries, KT Rama Rao, to Maharashtra Minister and state NCP President Jayant Patil have made repeated appeals to Musk to bring Tesla to India, but all in vain.
2. Gadkari, speaking during the ‘Raisina Dialogue 2022’ last month said that “it cannot be a good proposition for India” if Musk wants to wants to manufacture in China and sell Tesla cars in India.
3. Gadkari, earlier in February said that in order to roll out Tesla cars on the Indian roads, it has to manufacture them first.
4. In a tweet, Musk said that he faced challenges from the government for releasing its products in India. “Tesla isn’t in India yet due to “Challenges with the government,” he posted.
5. Currently, in India a tax of 100% is levied on the imported cars which are more than $40,000 (Rs 30 lakhs), inclusive of insurance and shipping expenses. For cars less than $40,000, there is an import tax of 60%.
6. Musk has said that he wants to launch cars in India but the country’s import duties on EVs are “highest in the world by far”.
7. Meanwhile, SpaceX satellite internet service Starlink is available in 32 countries, up from 25 countries reported earlier this year.
8. However Indian government has asked Starlink to stop “booking/rendering the satellite internet service” in the country without a licence.
9. Amid the government pressure, the India Director for Starlink, Sanjay Bhargava stepped down.
10. Elon Musk-owned company also informed some individuals in the country that it will refund their pre-orders.