Elon Musk: Elon Musk, the chief of electric car maker Tesla, is coming to India in April. Musk will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. It is believed that during his India visit, Elon Musk may make an announcement regarding his investment plan and electric vehicle plant in India.
News agency ‘Reuters’ gave this information in its report quoting sources. According to the report, Elon Musk will visit India in the week starting from April 22. After meeting PM Modi, Musk will separately reveal his plans to invest in India.
Sources said that this visit is extremely confidential. PMO and Tesla have refused to say anything on this issue. However, there can be a change in the agenda of Elon Musk’s India visit. According to the report, Tesla’s team can visit many states including Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
According to the report, an investment of $2 billion is expected on Tesla’s manufacturing plant. It is believed that Tesla’s team may visit several states to find a suitable place for its proposed plant. Maharashtra and Gujarat have also given a good offer along with land to Tesla to set up a plant here. Apart from this, the Telangana government is also in talks to bring an EV manufacturing plant here.
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Government reduced import tax up to 85% in new EV policy
Government has recently announced a new Electric Vehicle Policy (EV Policy). This policy was being eyed by the world’s leading EV companies, including Elon Musk’s electric car company Tesla. The government has reduced the tax on import of a certain number of EVs or electric vehicles by up to 85%.
The main emphasis in the new EV policy will be on bringing foreign investment to India. Along with this, efforts will also be made to take India ahead in EV technology production. In this, foreign companies will have to invest at least Rs 4,150 crore.
Regarding the new electric vehicle policy, the government has said that this policy has been designed to attract investment from global EV manufacturers in the e-vehicle sector. Currently, India levies import tax of up to 70-100 percent on imported cars depending on their price.
Elon Musk had expressed interest in investing in India
Elon Musk had shown interest in investing in India in early 2019. However, he had objected to the high import tax. Tesla’s cheapest car in the US is sold in India for around Rs 70 lakh.
The government had put this condition
The government has not allowed Tesla to sell Chinese-made cars in India. The government had asked Elon Musk’s company to build a manufacturing plant in the country itself, so that production could be done for domestic sales and export.
EV companies will have to invest a minimum of Rs 4150 crore
In the new Electric Vehicle Policy announced on Friday, the government has given the EV companies a target of investing a minimum of Rs 4150 crore, setting up a production facility within 3 years and reaching 50 percent DVA or Domestic Value Addition within 5 years.
This includes 25 percent localization by the third year and 50 percent localization by the fifth year. If a company sets up its plant in India, then it will have to pay 15 percent customs duty on assembling cars costing $35,000 and above in India. This facility will be available for 5 years.
