Elon Musk’s Tesla Entry : Is It Good For India ?

Tesla, the electric car company, is getting ready to start making cars in India. They’ve already started making cars with the steering wheel on the right side at their factory in Germany. This is important because cars in India have the steering wheel on the right side.

Tesla is also planning to visit India later this month to look at places to build a factory. They might invest $2 billion in this factory.

Many people in India have waited for Tesla to come here for years. When the Indian government changed its rules for electric cars in March, many people thought it was especially for Tesla.

The new rules make it easier for companies like Tesla to sell electric cars in India. The government has also set targets for how much of the cars must be made in India. This is to help the Indian economy.

Why India is Important for Elon Musk’s Tesla

India is a very important place for Tesla. It’s a big market for them, especially now that things are changing with China and other countries. Tesla’s boss, Elon Musk, even met with India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in New York in June 2023 to talk about working together with the Indian government.

Right now, India mostly uses two-wheelers and three-wheelers that run on electricity. But by the year 2030, there will be many more electric cars on the roads in India. This is because car companies are trying to make more affordable electric cars. India’s government also wants 30% of all cars on the road to be electric by 2030.

Even though there aren’t many electric four-wheelers (cars) in India right now, things are changing. In 2023, over 1.5 million electric vehicles were sold in India, mostly two-wheelers and three-wheelers. Tata Motors is a big player in the electric four-wheeler market, but electric cars only made up 2% of all car sales in 2023.

Tesla is trying to get into the Indian market at a time when people in the US and China are buying fewer electric cars. In China, Tesla is facing tough competition from Chinese companies, and in the US, they have had some problems with the quality of their cars and how they are made. Tesla didn’t sell as many cars as expected in the first quarter of the year and missed the goals set by experts.

Tesla In Indian Electric Car Race

India is getting ready for a race in electric cars. Tesla, a big company from the USA, wants to come to India and invest money to build electric cars. Another company from Vietnam called VinFast also wants to invest money in India to make electric cars. Some companies that provide ride-hailing services are also planning to use more electric vehicles in their services.

Ola Electric, an Indian company, is planning to make electric cars by 2025 or 2026. Tesla’s plan to come to India might make Ola Electric speed up its plans. Ola Electric wants to build a huge factory to make many electric cars every year.

There are many companies interested in making electric cars in India. Tesla will have to see if Indian people, who care about the price of things, will buy their cars. Even though some people in India have a lot of money, Tesla’s cars might be more expensive than other electric cars made by companies like Hyundai or Volvo. Will Indian people think Tesla’s brand is good enough to buy their cars?

Some people think Tesla is working on making a smaller and cheaper car for the Indian market. This car might cost less than $30,000, which is around 25 lakh rupees. This would make it compete with other cars in the market.

Other companies that focus on making electric cars are also trying to make affordable cars. They have launched cars like MG Comet and Tata Punch EV in the market.

Is Tesla Getting Ready for India?

This will be a very important part of Tesla’s growth in India, and there are signs that Tesla is getting ready for this.

One important thing is that Tesla and other car companies need to be able to charge their cars at the same places in India. The Indian government might make rules about this soon.

Tesla In India

In the US, Tesla has special charging stations called ‘Supercharger stations’. They now have a special thing called a ‘Magic Dock‘ that lets cars that are not Teslas charge up there. Also, Tesla is thinking about making places to charge electric two-wheeler vehicles, which will be very important in India and other countries in Southeast Asia.

For people in India, when Tesla and other big companies start selling electric cars, it will show that the time for electric cars has begun. Just like when Apple became successful, other companies like Samsung, Google, and Oneplus also started making things in India.

When Tesla comes to India, it might start a really good time for electric cars in India. But it will also depend on how good the places to charge electric cars are in India. This could also be a good time for new companies that make electric cars to start.

Recent Status Of Tesla Company:

Metric 2023 Q1 2024
Vehicle Production 1.85 million 1.85 million
Vehicle Deliveries 1.81 million 1.81 million
Total Deliveries Q1 2024 N/A 386,810
Total Production Q1 2024 N/A 433,371
Revenue (in billion USD) $96.773B N/A
Net Income (in billion USD) $15B $7.9B
Market Capitalization (in trillion USD) 1.1 trillion N/A