Musk denies building a factory in India unless Tesla is allowed to sell locally

On May 28, according to Sina Finance, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla will only build a factory in India after it is allowed to sell and repair cars in India.

In recent years, Tesla has been eager to import and sell itselectric vehiclesin India . The company's CEO Elon Musk said that India has imposed almost the highest tariffs on electric vehicles in the world. Tesla has been lobbying in New Delhi for nearly a year. countries can reduce tariffs.

Tesla and the Indian government have been in talks to enter the Indian market.On the one hand, the Indian government insists that Tesla first build a factory in the country in order to assemble cars locally.If Tesla just wanted to sell cars in the Indian market, it would have to pay high import taxes.

Currently, India imposes a 100% import tax on imported cars with a cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value of more than $40,000 and a 60% import tax on cars with a CIF value below that amount.Meanwhile, the Indian government has refused to offer Tesla any tax rebates.

The Indian government is concerned about giving Tesla any tax breaks, as the move could discourage other automakers that abide by the current tax system.In addition, the tax rebate could hit India's domestic EV industry hard.

Tesla, on the other hand, is lobbying hard for India to lower tariffs so it can test the market reaction by selling cheaper imported electric cars before committing to a manufacturing base.

Although the stance of the central government of India has always been tough, many states have extended olive branches to Musk before.In January, ministers from the Indian states of Telangana, Punjab, Bengal and Maharashtra invited him to invest in their respective states.

Tesla set up a subsidiary in India in early 2021 and registered an office in the city of Bangalore in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.Karnataka also confirmed shortly afterwards that Tesla will build an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in the state.However, both programs are currently at a standstill.