In the words of an individual who is familiar with the matter, Tesla Inc. has started recruiting leaders and senior roles in India as they break up into one of the world’s largest new cars markets.
The Californian electric vehicle manufacturer recruits a sales and marketing managers, and the person who asks for not being identified, for positions including heads of human resource. Last week, a Tesla fan club tweeted a senior lawyer in the company.
CEO Elon Musk will enter India in January after months of speculation, except for confirmed Tesla. The second richest man in the world tweeted on January 13 in response to a Tesla-based blog report, “The automaker had talks to open an office, showrooms, a research and development centre and possibly an operation with several Indian countries.
Last month, local media reported that Prashanth Menon was elevated to country CEO, and has been with Tesla for approximately four years.
Tesla didn’t answer a comment request immediately.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcements about changes in the country’s commodity-and-sale tax that could decrease the cost of owning the electric car are closely monitored by the EV producer. This person knows about the matter. It is also awaiting additional incentives for electricity manufacturers under India’s Production-Linked Incentive Program to push into India.
Under PLI, as it is known, production incentives will grow annually to encourage the largest brands worldwide to produce their products in India and export to the world. Last month the Cabinet in India approved a plan to increase the battery storage capacity to 50 gigawatt hours to 181 billion rupees ($2,5 billion).
But even with sweeteners, Tesla’s foray to India may be challenging. In contrast to China, the welcome mat for electric cars has not been rolled out by India. Tesla established its first plant in Shanghai outside the U.S. now dominates premium EV sales in China. According to BloombergNEF, EVs represent around 6% of China’s annual car sales as compared to less than 1% in India
The costly price of Tesla cars is also seen as a point of reference. While India is a nascent middle class, the vast majority of India’s population is far removed from expensive cars. Another barrier to large-scale EV adoption is the lack of charging infrastructure.
The Chief Minister of State in February said that Tesla chose Karnataka from the South State, the capital of which is Bangalore, for its first plant. Tesla did not comment. Tesla did not comment. The car manufacturer has been negotiating with local officials for 6 months and is actively considering assembling cars in the suburb of Bangalore.
