For the longest time now there’s been seamless discussion as to whether Tesla will actually manufacture cars in India or not. There were some classicists according to whom, Tesla were here for the long run in manufacturing cars (given the world class pedigree of car making that they are anyways known for).
Perhaps it is that lot that will, for now, be scratching their heads given the recent development that has come from the stable of Elon Musk, one that may surely have never guessed.
Though all of that said, what Tesla have recently declared with regards to their India plans shall remain, at least, for some time in the future, a polarising stand or decision.
There’s going to be some who’ll probably back what Elon Musk has declared whilst some as per whom, India sort of ruffled Tesla’s feathers.
Truth, however, certainly is, that Tesla are not going to be making their world famous cars in the country famously described as a glowing incubator of some of the most leading products, concepts and technologies: India.
Given the fact that India actually imposes- if in case you didn’t know- some of the highest import duties as seen anywhere in the world has proven itself to be a real deterrent to Tesla’s plans.
Now the math regarding Tesla making cars in India was always as simple as the following:
The lower the import duties, the higher the chances of Tesla selling cars in India. But is normal life always so ideal? Do we always get what we desire to our heart’s contentment? Probably not, right?
For where it stands, Tesla is not willing to make its products in the country locally for as long as it is not allowed (or permitted) to not only sell but also service its cars in India.
The following excerpts were taken from a latest news report published on the revered NDTV.com. They capture the spirit of the argument that Elon Musk has made with regards to the plan of his revered company:
In a tweet responding to a user asking about Tesla setting up a manufacturing plant in India, he said, “Tesla will not put a manufacturing plant in any location where we are not allowed first to sell & service cars.”
Last month, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had said if Tesla was ready to manufacture its electric vehicles in India then there was ‘no problem’ but the company must not import cars from China.
In August last year, Mr Musk had said Tesla may set up a manufacturing unit in India if it first succeeds with imported vehicles in the country.
He had said Tesla wanted to launch its vehicles in India “but import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country!”
To conclude, if you were to think of it, then it may strike you that all the pleasing and welcoming talks by some notable Indian ministers to Elon Musk wherein they invited the South African-born innovator to make Tesla in India, quite simply, fall flat on the ground- do they not?
As a matter of fact, there were no fewer than four different states that had welcomed Tesla to make its prodigious and astounding cars in India. The pep talk done and with the reality kicking in hard, it ought to be asked whose loss is it anyway?