Tesla Executives Meet Invest India CEO, Eyeing Entry into Indian Market

Tesla Inc. has dispatched two of its executives to meet officials from Invest India, the national investment promotion and facilitation agency of India, hinting at the company's intention to penetrate the Indian market. The Tesla team is interacting with Nivruti Rai, the former Intel India head, who currently serves as the CEO of Invest India.

The primary objective behind these high-level discussions is to explore the feasibility of establishing a manufacturing unit in India. This facility would focus on the production of a budget-friendly Electric Vehicle (EV) model, speculated to be priced around $24,000 (approximately Rs 20 lakh). If realised, this would mean the new vehicle would be about 30% less expensive than Tesla's existing Model 3.

Earlier this year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had hinted at this development in the next phase of the Tesla masterplan. The vision involves crafting a cost-effective EV tailored for South Asian markets and a van.

Rohan Patel, Tesla's Senior Public Policy and Business Development Executive, and Roshan Thomas, VP for Supply Chain, have been flown in for these negotiations. Both executives are in New Delhi and have held discussions with Nivruti Rai, who until recently, was associated with Intel.

These Tesla representatives have also reportedly held a meeting with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and are anticipated to engage in dialogues with the central government. The discussions are set to revolve around establishing an EV supply chain and allotting land for the proposed factory.

While several Indian states have already expressed their readiness to facilitate Tesla's entry into the Indian market, the EV giant is currently more interested in direct negotiations with the central government.

This development comes on the heels of Tesla CEO Elon Musk's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter's recent trip to the US. Interestingly, this new approach from Tesla comes as a marked shift from its prior focus on lobbying for a reduction or elimination of import duty on EVs shipped to India, which was met with the government's insistence on local assembly.