Elon Musk’s Tesla is poised to send a team to scout locations in India this month for a potential $2 billion to $3 billion electric car plant, the Financial Times reported citing people familiar with the matter.
This comes after New Delhi’s recent reduction in tariffs on higher-priced imported electric vehicles (EVs) for companies committing to domestic production within three years.
As per the report, the scouting team, slated to arrive from the US by late April, will primarily target states with established automotive hubs such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. While Haryana, New Delhi, could also be considered, the focus appears to be on states with port facilities, facilitating easier export of cars, the report said.
PM Modi had previously urged Musk to invest in India during their meeting in the US last year.
“He (Modi) wants to be open, he wants to be supportive of new companies and make sure it accrues to India’s advantage. Which is, obviously, that’s the job,” Musk had said after meeting the PM.
