New Delhi: Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors will send a team from the United States to India soon to study sites for a proposed 2 billion to 3 billion dollar electric car plant, the Financial Times reported today.
Tesla lovers in the country were anxiously waiting for the first response from Elon Musk after the government approved a new electric vehicle (EV) policy that is designed to attract investments in the EV space by global manufacturers like the Musk-run electric car company.
It was in 2015 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Tesla headquarters in Palo Alto, California and met the billionaire who gave the Prime Minister a tour of the company’s electric car plant.
In later years, the billionaire sought customs duty to be lowered so that he could bring Tesla vehicles to the country.
Presently, customs duty on cars imported as completely built units (CBUs) varies from 60-100 per cent, depending on their cost.
In the new policy, the government has reduced the customs duty to 15 per cent, with certain riders. This now paves the way for Musk to enter the Indian market.
Last year, PM Modi met Musk in the US and appreciated his efforts at making technology accessible and affordable in various sectors.
The Prime Minister invited Musk to explore opportunities in India for investments in electric mobility and the rapidly expanding commercial space sector.
After hearing PM Modi’s ‘Make in India’ pitch, the Tesla CEO announced that his electric vehicle and battery company will come to the country “as soon as it is humanly possible”.
(With inputs from IANS)
Ms Kalinga