Telangana: A new development has emerged in Tesla’s much-hyped entry into the Indian market. Now, Telangana’s Minister of Industry and Commerce Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao has responded to a tweet by Elon Musk about the challenges in working with the Indian government. Rao said his state would be happy to partner and work on the challenges of setting up Tesla in India/Telangana. In fact, in 2016, Rao had tested the Tesla Model X in India and praised Musk as well.
As you know, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had earlier replied to a tweet by Prannoy Pathole, in which he posted a query related to the launch of Tesla in India – “Yo @elonmusk any more updates that Tesla in India When will it launch? They are awesome and deserve to be in every corner of the world!”
To this Musk replied, “Still facing a lot of challenges with the government. Earlier, Musk had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cut import taxes on EVs before the company enters the Indian market. Custom duty on imported cars in India ranges from 60 to 100 percent.
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Musk also said that the taxes in India are the highest of any country in the world, and hence, he wants to cut them before entering the Indian EV market. It also invited the ire of many Indian automobile manufacturers, as they felt it might discourage investment in local manufacturing.
In August, Tesla received homologation certificates for four of its car models. With three more certifications, the electric vehicle maker now has seven vehicles approved in India. Tesla Model 3S and Model YS have been spotted on Indian roads.