India’s deputy technology minister said in an interview with Reuters on Friday, a day after meeting executives from electric carmakers that Tesla is “serious” about plans to set up a manufacturing base in India.
Elon Musk’s U.S. automaker held talks with Indian officials this week on a variety of topics including incentives for car and battery manufacturing, as Tesla reconsiders entering the Indian market, Reuters reported on Thursday.
“They are taking India very seriously as a base for production and innovation,” Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in the first public comments by an Indian government official on the talks.
“We have sent a signal to them that the Indian government is working together and will definitely make any ambition or investment target they have in India successful,” said K. Chandrasekhar, one of the most senior officials in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
According to Reuters, Tesla has proposed setting up a factory in India to produce electric vehicles (EVs) and is considering producing EV batteries.
Asked whether talks with Tesla include more than just building cars, Chandrasekhar said “you don’t just talk about cars” when having such discussions.
“You talk about cars, you talk about energy, you talk about manufacturing technology. So all these are part of the conversation. What they want to do in India, that’s too far away for me, that’s not something I can say,” he added.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The discussions in India represent a shift in stance for Tesla, which said late last year that it was focused on seeking to reduce import taxes on cars by up to 100%.
Negotiations have stalled as the government wants Tesla to build its cars locally and the automaker has said it wants to export to India first to test demand.
Outside the United States, Tesla has a factory in Shanghai, its largest in the world, and one in Brandenburg, Germany.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
