Elon Musk’s Tesla Can Enter India If The Co Manufactures Here: Nitin Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari yesterday said that Elon Musk’s Tesla is welcome in India only if the EV company manufactures automobiles in the country.

While speaking on news channel AajTak, Gadkari said, “Elon Musk is welcome in India. However, it will not be possible if he only manufactures in China and wants a concession for marketing in India.”

The minister stated that Tesla can only avail the concession and other benefits if it makes its cars in any of the Indian states. 

Talking about India’s automotive industry, he said that the country’s automobile industry is around 7.5 Lakh Cr. Gadkari further said that he wants the sector to become the number one manufacturing hub globally.

The development has come months after Tesla’s founder Elon Musk revealed plans to foray into the Indian market after the Centre refused to slash import duties on Tesla EV cars.

In May, on the microblogging platform Twitter, Musk tweeted that Tesla will not manufacture in India until it would be allowed to sell and service EV cars first.

Speaking about the Goods and Service Tax (GST) levied on the automobile sector, the minister said the automotive industry comes under the highest GST slab of (28%). 

“This industry is the only industry that pays the maximum amount of GST to the state government and the Centre. The Indian automobile industry has given employment to 4 crore people,” he added.

On this, Union Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said (in June) that Tesla can only come to India if the company complies with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat policy of the country.   

He added that the Centre will not compromise with Tesla’s demands in any way. “Tesla is welcome to India, but only after complying with the country’s policies,” Pandey said. 

It is important to know that the Indian government imposes 100% import tax on automobiles that are fully imported in India, with a CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) value of more than $40K. Meanwhile, 60% import duty is levied on imported cars having a CIF value less than $40K.