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Elon Musk’s Tesla company is currently demanding the Indian government to reduce import duty. It is said that the launch of Tesla is stuck in India due to import fees.
But in the meantime, Elon Musk has been invited by the government of four Indian states of Telangana, Punjab, West Bengal and Maharashtra to open the factory.
Hyderabad:Tesla was initially set to sell its electric cars in India last year. However, it couldn’t due to lack of agreement with central government on import fees. That hasn’t stopped these four states from inviting Tesla to set up shop in their respective states.
After Elon Musk took to Twitter to share that he was “Still working through a lot of challenges with the government,” Punjab, Telengana, West Bengal and Maharashtra invited him to set up factory in their states.
Seeing this tweet, political leaders from the non-BJP ruled states became active and asked Elon to open shop in their states within a short while of each other.
Telangana:
Telangana was the first to invite Tesla and Elon Musk. Telangana Industries and Commerce Minister KT Rama Rao introduced himself and said “Will be happy to partner (with) Tesla in working through the challenges to set shop in India/Telangana. Our state is a champion in sustainability initiatives & a top notch business destination in India”
Punjab:
After Telangana, it was the turn of Punjab. Touting the “Punjab Model”, State Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu said “Punjab Model will create Ludhiana as a hub for Electric Vehicles & Battery industry with time-bound single window clearance for investment that brings new technology to Punjab, create green jobs, walking path of environment preservation & sustainable development.”
Maharashtra:
Maharashtra’s Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil also sent an invitation to Tesla CEO Elon Musk to set up a production unit in Maharashtra. He said “Maharashtra is one of the most progressive states in India,” and assured Elon Musk that the State will provide all necessary help for Tesla to get established in India.
West Bengal:
West Bengal’s Minority Development and Madrasa Education Minister Mohammad Ghulam Rabbani said “Bengal means Business” while inviting Elon Musk to “drop here(West Bengal)”. Boasting about the infrastructure in the State, he said “our leader Mamata Banerjee has a vision”.
Soon after, the Twitter thread became a field for bashing from political leaders of opposition parties.
In 2020, Elon Musk had said that Tesla would set up a manufacturing unit for electric vehicles in India. According to the company, a Tesla subsidiary named India Motors and Energy Private Limited has been set up to start operations in India. However, Tesla says that, at present, more import duty is being charged in India on electric cars imported from abroad. Tesla’s demand is to keep their product in the electrical vehicle category instead of the luxury category.
