Tesla won't make cars unless allowed to sell, service: Musk

New Delhi: American electric carmaker Tesla, which has been seeking reduction in import duties to sell its vehicles in India, will not manufacture its products locally unless it is allowed to first sell and service its cars in the country, company founder and chief executive Elon Musk has said. In a tweet responding to a user asking about Tesla setting up a manufacturing plant in India, he said, "Tesla will not put a manufacturing plant in any location where we are not allowed first to sell & service cars." Musk has said that he wants to launch cars in India but the country's import duties on EVs are "highest in the world by far".

Last month, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had said if Tesla was ready to manufacture its electric vehicles in India then there was 'no problem' but the company must not import cars from China. In August last year, Musk had said Tesla may set up a manufacturing unit in India if it first succeeds with imported vehicles in the country. He had said Tesla wanted to launch its vehicles in India "but import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country!"

Currently, India imposes 100 per cent import duty on fully imported cars with CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) value more than USD 40,000 and 60 per cent on those costing less than the amount.

The team Musk hired in India last year has now been diverted to focus on the Middle-East and the larger Asia-Pacific markets. The move by Tesla appears to be a retaliation as the Indian government has not accepted the demand by Musk to reduce import duties on Tesla vehicles. On Starlink, he said that SpaceX is still waiting for the Indian government's approval. SpaceX satellite internet service Starlink is available in 32 countries, up from 25 countries reported earlier this year. In India, the government had told Starlink to stop "booking/ rendering the satellite internet service" in the country without a licence. Sanjay Bhargava, India Director for Starlink, stepped down earlier this year amid the government pressure. The Elon Musk-owned company also informed some individuals in the country that it will refund their pre-orders.