iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
Elon Musk’s Tesla cars are long-awaited in India, but the launch has been delayed yet again. The cars have been expected in India by 2019, but they’re still are no signs of the entry of Tesla in India.
When he was asked about any update on the Tesla launch in India, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla tweeted, “Still working through a lot of challenges with the government.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk had previously responded to a tweet stating that his company wants to launch cars in India, but that the country’s import levies on electric vehicles (EVs) are preventing the company from doing so.
Responding to Youtuber Madan Gowri’s tweet “please launch Tesla cars in India ASAP!”
Musk responded with: “Want to launch Tesla in India, but import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country. Moreover, clean energy vehicles are treated the same as diesel or petrol, which does not seem entirely consistent with the climate goals of India.”
Currently, India levies 100 percent tax on imported cars of price more than $40,000 (Rs 30 lakh) inclusive of insurance and shipping expenses, and cars less than $40,000 are subject to 60 percent import tax.
The government may consider lowering import duty along with offering other sops to Tesla but for that, the EV major would have to invest in setting up a manufacturing facility in the country.
Tesla’s cars, when launched in India, will be affordable as confirmed by Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari. He promised that the cars will be priced at Rs 35 lakh.
A blue-colored Tesla model was also sighted in Pune, India, which further confirmed that Tesla is already working its way to the Indian automobile market.
Tesla is planning on setting up mega showrooms in 3 metros in India. CEO Elon Musk had tweeted in the past about his ambitions to enter India this year. Tesla has also appointed CBRE Group Inc, a global property consultant, to scout locations where mammoth showrooms and service centers in the range of 20-30,000 sq foot space could be constructed.
