Tesla CEO Elon Musk is to visit India later this month to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where he is expected to make an announcement about his ambitions to invest and open a new plant in the country.
Musk is set to visit with Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi during the week of April 22 and will make a separate announcement regarding his India intentions, according to Reuters.
Previously, it was claimed that Tesla officials would visit India this month to look at locations for a manufacturing plant that would cost around $2 billion.
Earlier in the day, it was revealed that Tesla is looking for a local partner to set up operations in India. According to a report in The Hindu Businessline, the US automaker is mulling a joint venture with Reliance to build a production unit here.
Tesla has been studying potential factory sites, including Gujarat and Maharashtra. According to the survey, Maharashtra is gaining popularity.
Musk announced Tesla's foray into India during a Spaces session on X hosted by Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management. "Today, India is the world's most populous country. India, like all other countries, should have electric cars. It's a natural development to provide Tesla electric vehicles in India," he explained.
In March, the Centre announced a new Electric Vehicle (EV) policy aimed at positioning the country as a global EV production powerhouse. The policy mandated a minimum investment of Rs 4,150 crore with no maximum investment cap, designed to attract investments from reputable global EV manufacturers.
Aside from the minimum investment need, the policy requires three years to establish manufacturing facilities in India, begin commercial production of EVs, and achieve 50 percent domestic value addition (DVA) within five years at most.
The policy will provide Indian consumers with access to the latest technology, boost the 'Make in India' initiative, and strengthen the EV ecosystem by promoting healthy competition among EV players, leading to high volume of production, economies of scale, lower cost of production, reduce crude oil imports, lower trade deficit, reduce air pollution, particularly in cities, and have a positive impact on health and the environment, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Furthermore, the government stated that DVA during manufacturing must include a 25% localisation level by the third year and 50% by the fifth year.
