Tesla in India? Not likely anytime soon

While Karnataka state government's comments on the Union Budget stated, "Tesla would be setting up a manufacturing plant in the state," a senior official who did not wish to be named told BusinessToday.In that the government has still not received any concrete proposal for the company. He added that there has been no further development in the allotment of land process for the company even though the government has indicated two places.

Earlier last month, Tesla Inc - Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Limited - classified as a Subsidiary of Foreign Company registered at Registrar of Companies, Bangalore with its corporate headquarters on Lavelle Road in the city. The company's authorised share capital is Rs 15,00,000 with a paid up capital of  Rs 1,00,000. Two out the three directors listed in the Indian entity are high-ranking officials in the parent company. Vaibhav Taneja is the Chief Accounting Officer at Tesla, and David Feinstein is global senior director. The third director Venkatrangam Sreeram, is also on the board of two other firms - Xenon Automotive India, an automotive fleet and dealer management firm, and Clearquote Technologies India, an artificial intelligence firm that specialises in vehicle inspections.

Earlier on January 12, Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa tweeted welcoming Tesla to India and said that it would open and R&D centre and commence operations soon. However the tweet was deleted quietly after a few hours. Several states are competing to welcome Tesla in their state. Tesla has reportedly not struck a deal in Karnataka. Industries minister of Maharashtra Subhas Desai said that the company is looking to open showrooms where it would showcase cars imported from US and Europe. Further depending on the response the company would select the model and set up a manufacturing unit, he said, as mentioned in a report in Times of India.

Also read: Elon Musk's Tesla to take tax-friendly jurisdiction route to enter India

Also read: Tesla to set up electric car manufacturing unit in Karnataka: CM Yediyurappa