Tesla in discussion with Government of India for relaxed import restrictions

Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk has revealed that the company is in discussion with the Government of India for a Tesla launch in the country. Musk replied to a query on Twitter detailing that the company is discussing a temporary relief from the import penalties. According to the tweet, this arrangement will be a temporary one until the company builds a local factory to manufacture Tesla products (cars, batteries solar panels etc.) in India.

In discussions with the government of India requesting temporary relief on import penalties/restrictions until a local factory is built

Earlier, the government clarified that Tesla will not have to source local components if it plans to set up a manufacturing unit in India. The government responded to apprehensions expressed by Musk that the company would have to source a certain percentage of local components to set up a plant here.

This comes months after Musk said that Tesla will launch in India in the summer of 2017. In April last year, at the time of the unveiling of the Model 3, Elon Musk had indicated that the pre-orders for the new semi-autonomous electric vehicle would be available in new markets for the company including India, Brazil, South Africa, Singapore and Ireland. The vehicle is expected to be an electric vehicle, with the road conditions not suitable for semi-autonomous capabilities of Tesla vehicles.