Thu. Mar 28th, 2024
tesla

Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. is an inch closer to making an official debut in the Indian market after the Indian testing agencies approved the company to make or import four models in the country.

Centre-controlled Vahan Sewa shared that Tesla Motors Tesla India Motors and Energy, the India subsidiary of Tesla Inc. has received approvals for all four of its vehicle variants.

Tesla’s vehicles are certified as being roadworthy in India, a notice on the website of the nation’s ministry of road transport and highways says.

“The tests ensure the vehicle matches the requirements of the Indian market in terms of emission and safety and road worthiness,” according to the site. A Tesla fan club earlier tweeted about the development, saying the cars were probably Model 3 and Model Y variants.

The listing however does not name the model name that has been approved. But, a few Tesla models such as Tesla Model 3 and Model 3 are seen on Indian roads, prompting them to be the prospective models to be available for a majority of the people.

Both Model 3 and Model Y are said to be the best-selling cars of the company.The Model 3 sedan is the entry-level Tesla and the Model Y belongs to the  SUV segment with multiple seating configurations. 

Tesla Model 3 was in the top 20 best-selling cars according to the Focus2Move database. The car stood at 16th position in the best-selling cars in the world. Also, it is the best selling EV car in the world. The Model 3 has a purchase price starting from $35,000 (roughly ₹25.6 lakh) in the United States.

Tesla entry in the Indian markets is much awaited.

According to a report by Indian Express published last year, the transport minister- Nitin Gadkari claimed that Tesla will start operations in the country early next year, i.e. early 2021. The report suggested that the EV manufacturer will start bookings for the Model 3 in India from January and start deliveries by June next year.

Gadkari also said that Tesla will start its operations with sales and then depending upon the demand will venture into manufacturing and assembly of the cars. He also went on to state that, “India is going to become a number 1 manufacturing hub for auto in five years.”

In October last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had confirmed, in a response to a tweet, that they are introducing the brand in India by 2021.

Tesla is registered as Tesla Motors India brand name. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in response to a tweet, said that the company is willing to set up a factory in India if the initial sales of its imported cars get good response.

But, Musk has certain reservations about high import duty taxes for electric vehicles claiming that the taxes are one of the highest in the world.

 

By Harshita Sharma

I bring to you updates from business, policy and economy spectrum.

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