Piyush Goyal misses Elon Musk’s ‘magnetic presence’ during Tesla factory visit

The Union Minister is currently on a four-day visit to the US, which began on 13 November, to attend the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) Ministerial Meeting and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.

Goyal wrote about his visit to Tesla‘s Fremont factory on X, noting that the “state-of-the-art” manufacturing facility also employs many talented Indian engineers and financial professionals. He also highlighted the role played by Indian-sourced auto components in the Tesla EV supply chain.

In his X post, Goyal wrote: “Visited @Tesla ’s state of the art manufacturing facility at Fremont, California. Extremely delighted to see talented Indian engineers & finance professionals working at Senior positions and contributing to Tesla’s remarkable journey to transform mobility.”

“Also proud to see the growing importance of Auto component suppliers from India in the Tesla EV supply chain. It is on its way to double its components imports from India. Missed Mr @ElonMusk’s magnetic presence and I wish him a speedy recovery.”

Tesla EV in India soon?

Piyush Goyal’s visit is being seen as a sign that the Indian government may have finally agreed to grant Tesla tax concessions for the electric car maker to set up a factory in India.

A recent report in the Financial Times noted that the Indian government is considering reducing the duty on electric vehicles to 15% across the board. However, the report notes that the policy hasn’t yet been agreed within the government.

According to the Financial Times, Tesla has asked for an initial concession on customs duty levied on imported cars in India. All completely built-up (CBU) vehicles priced below $40,000 now face a 70% import duty, while those priced above $40,000 invite a 100% import duty.

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Updated: 14 Nov 2023, 09:31 AM IST