Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk said on Monday that the company has trashed its plans, at least for now, to begin the sale of its cars in India.
Earlier, Musk had shown interest to target the Indian market, a country of more than a billion people. In fact, India was included in the list of countries to introduce Tesla’s new Model 3 for pre-orders.
Last year, in a tweet, Musk said he wanted to build a network of superchargers – the roadside stations that replenish Tesla batteries, across India.
But the billionaire entrepreneur’s latest response suggests the company is no longer targeting a summer launch of Tesla in India.
The Indian government, in response, tweeted on Tuesday, through the official account of its manufacturing program, and clarified that the 30 percent local sourcing requirement is only for foreign retailers and wouldn’t apply to Tesla.
However, there are other potential hurdles, too. If Tesla’s cars are imported from abroad, they would likely be subject to hefty import duties. Also, India’s crowded roads and unreliable electricity grid are also not well suited to Tesla’s sleek battery-powered cars.
Source: The American Bazaar
