Tesla In India For Rs 20 Lakhs!

After hanging fire for a long time, Elon Musk-led electric carmaker Tesla's highly-anticipated India plan finally seems to be gathering some speed.

As per reports, India's commerce and industry ministry is leading the discussions. The government is hoping to put together a 'good deal' while maintaining a level-playing field.

Tesla's plans for India are in line with the government's "Make in India" initiative. The company is reportedly looking to produce 500,000 vehicles per year in India, with a starting price of around Rs. 20 lakh. If Tesla is able to achieve its production goals, it would be a major boost for the Indian automotive industry. The company's investment would also create thousands of jobs in the country.

In addition to manufacturing vehicles, Tesla is also looking to invest in India's charging infrastructure. The company is reportedly planning to build a network of Superchargers across the country. Tesla's entry into India would be a major development for the electric vehicle market in the country. The company's arrival would help to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles in India.

After China, the company is looking to turn India into an export base to serve markets in the Indo-Pacific region, ToI's report said. "Tesla has come to us with an ambitious plan, and we are confident that the movement will be positive this time around, especially as it involves both local manufacturing and exports," according to sources.

The fresh development in the company's plans to invest in India comes within weeks of Musk's meeting with PM Modi during the latter's US state tour.

Musk, who had said he was a 'fan of Mr Modi', had revealed after their meeting that the PM had been pushing him to raise his bet on India. "He (Mr Modi) really cares about India because he's pushing us to make significant investments in India, which is something we intend to do. We are just trying to figure out the right timing ... I am confident that Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible," Musk had said on June 21.

India has also been aggressively pushing the high-potential of the local car market, which is now the world's fourth-largest after closing last year with sales of around 3.9 million units, behind only China, US and Japan, the ToI report highlighted.

Tesla's potential bet on India is being seen as in line with a global corporate strategy to diversify their production bases beyond China. If the plan goes through, it will be a big boost for Modi government's Make in India push. Under Make in India, companies such as Apple's vendors are investing majorly in domestic production and using the country as an exports base. Tesla has been eyeing the Indian market for a long time, but the company's move toward this end has been kind of on and off.