Elon Musk’s company Tesla is “not interested in manufacturing in India”, according to H. D. Kumaraswamy, India’s Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise.
Tesla is “not interested in manufacturing in India”, the country’s Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise has hinted.
The multinational automotive and clean energy company, which is owned by Elon Musk, is to open two showrooms in India, but Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy doesn’t expect them to start manufacturing their range of electric cards in the nation anytime soon.
Kumaraswamy is quoted by the BBC as saying: “Mercedes Benz, Skoda-Volkswagen, Hyundai and Kia have shown interest [in manufacturing electric cars in India]. Tesla – we are not expecting from them.”
His comments come after US President Donald Trump recently claimed it would be “unfair” to American if Musk decided to build a Tesla factory in India.
Trump told Fox News: “Now, if he built the factory in India, that’s okay, but that’s unfair to us. It’s very unfair.”
In 2023, Musk – who also own social media site X, which was formerly Twitter – met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when the latter was on a state visit in the US.
At the time, the businessman admitted he was “confident” that Tesla would be in India “as soon as humanly possible”.
Musk explained: “He [Modi] really cares about India because he’s pushing us to make significant investments in India, which is something we intend to do.
“We are just trying to figure out the right timing.
“I am confident that Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible.”
Tesla ‘not interested in manufacturing in India’, Minister claims
