Tesla, the popular electric vehicle maker that boasts the world's best-selling car for the first part of the year, is expected to soon expand its operations to India, if the rumors are to be believed.
CleanTechnica reported that Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the government of India have had "several discussions" over the past few years, and Fortune quoted Musk saying that Tesla plans to "invest" in India "as soon as humanly possible" after he met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York.
Bolstering these claims is the fact that Modi and Musk both tweeted about the meeting, during which time they "had multifaceted conversations on issues ranging from energy to spirituality," per Modi. Another indication of momentum is the import tax cut India is rumored to be considering for EV makers with local operations — an apparent ploy to entice Tesla and others to bring operations in-country.
It is not yet clear what Tesla's investment in India would look like — whether it would just involve building a factory, or whether the EV manufacturer wants to start hawking its products in the world's most populous country.
Of course, it is always important to take anything Elon Musk says with a grain of salt — the SpaceX CEO is famous for making big promises and leaving his employees to figure out whether or not they are actually feasible. But expanding operations to India seems like something Tesla could go through with in the near future.
India had previously lagged behind countries such as the United States, China, and many European nations in terms of electric vehicle popularity. However, it has recently made up a lot of ground.
Reuters reported that fossil fuel usage in the country is expected to peak sooner than many experts thought it would because of the rise in EV ownership, which is certainly a good thing. As of January 2023, road transportation accounted for 56% of the Indian transportation sector's carbon dioxide emissions.
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