Tesla’s
reliance on China—where the electric-vehicle maker has a factory and leans on a growing market of wealthy consumers—is well known. But Elon Musk’s next big bet could be another Asian economic powerhouse: India.
Tesla
(ticker: TSLA) is on its way to doubling its components imports from India, the country’s commerce minister, Piyush Goyal, said on social-media platform X following his visit to the company’s factory in Fremont, California this week.
India—the world’s fifth-largest economy and most populous country—has been floated as the home of Tesla’s next factory. CEO Elon Musk said in May that the company would pick its next location by the end of this year, and said in June following a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he hoped the group would move into the country soon.
While the penetration of new electric-vehicles is lower in India than the U.S., and though many Indian consumers tend to buy more two- and three-wheelers, the country is one of the biggest fast-growing economies and could be a lucrative bet.
Tesla has been in talks with the Indian government over incentives and could build a plant to make and sell batteries in the country, Reuters reported in September, citing anonymous sources.
That narrative has been advanced this week. India is considering Tesla’s request to lower high tariffs for imported EVs—a duty of 70% for cars worth less than $40,000 and 100% for cars worth more than that—the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing government officials. Tesla’s request for this concession was a precondition for building a plant in the country, the report said.
Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com
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