Why aren't we having Teslas in India?: Elon Musk's father hints at India potential as Tesla skips manufacturing pitch
TIMESOFINDIA.COM Elon Musk's father's remarks come amid renewed speculation over Tesla's India entry — or lack thereof.
As India waits for a firm commitment from Tesla, the father of its CEO Elon Musk has offered a personal view, suggesting the electric vehicle giant's absence from the Indian market is puzzling given the country's scale and energy.
'That is something that I have to be careful not to say too much about. Tesla is a public company. It's not ours,' Errol Musk said when asked about the company's India plans. 'When you look at India and the population, the kind of people you've got here, the energy and everything... and when I hear that, with great respect, BYD and various others are coming in, and Tatas and Mahindra are making great cars, I'm very inclined to say, wait, why aren't we having Teslas here. But I can't say too much. That's just a personal point of view,' he added.
His remarks come amid renewed speculation over Tesla's India entry — or lack thereof.Union Heavy Industries Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy said Monday that Tesla has shown no interest in setting up manufacturing operations in India and is instead exploring the possibility of launching showrooms. 'They are more interested only to start showrooms. They are not interested to manufacture in India,' the minister said while unveiling guidelines for the government's new scheme to promote electric car manufacturing.While a Tesla representative attended the first stakeholder discussion for the scheme, government officials told PTI that the company skipped subsequent rounds. 'So far, they have not shown interest,' an official said.
The government had been courting Tesla to set up a local factory under its broader push to localize EV production and reduce import dependency. But according to Kumaraswamy, Tesla has remained largely non-committal.Adding to the complexity, former U.S. President Donald Trump recently said it would be 'unfair' to America if Tesla built a plant in India to bypass U.S. tariffs.Elon Musk himself had cited "heavy obligations" last year for delaying his planned India visit, and the company has since remained tight-lipped about its India strategy — even as rivals like BYD, Tata Motors, and Mahindra accelerate their domestic EV plans.With rising EV demand, favourable policy support, and growing competition, industry watchers say the world's largest electric carmaker risks falling behind in one of the world's fastest-growing auto markets.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
28 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Indian envoy to Egypt calls Operation Sindoor delegation ‘crucial' to tackle Pakistani misinformation
As an all-party delegation led by NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule visited Egypt, Indian Ambassador to Egypt Suresh K Reddy called it a "crucial visit" and said the delegation played an important role in countering misinformation spread by Pakistan. Speaking to ANI, Reddy said, "In the age of social media and information overload, it is important that correct information is shared with everybody. This delegation was crucial to dispel the misinformation spread by Pakistan. It would help to convey the right message, so countries can ask Pakistan the right questions." He added that the visit reflected the strength of India's democracy, as it helped communicate the public sentiment following recent terror attacks. "This was an essential visit because it reflects the strength of our democracy. It helped to convey the outrage and the sentiments of the people of India. This was communicated well and also received well by Egypt," Reddy said. He added, "They (delegation) had very good engagement with the leaders of Egypt. They met the Leader of the House (Upper House of the Senate) and many distinguished Senators. After it, they had a meeting with the House of Representatives, the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and other members. Their exchanges were very productive. They understood our position and strongly condemned the terrorism. They specifically stated that terrorism cannot be accepted in any form. There is no justification for terrorism." The Ambassador also mentioned that the delegation had interactions with opinion makers and the Indian community in Egypt. "This was later followed by interaction with the opinion makers... we exchanged many views. This was later followed by the vibrant Indian community in Egypt was grateful that the delegation came here and explained the situation in India to them. They shared their outrage with the members of the delegation," he said. Earlier on Tuesday, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule, who is leading the all-party delegation to Egypt, said that the group held a constructive meeting with Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. He reassured them that India and Egypt need to work together in peace, trade, and culture, as the two nations are uniquely placed. While interacting with local leaders, opinion makers, and think tanks in Cairo, Sule expressed gratitude to Egyptian leadership for standing firmly with India during the challenging and painful time and expressed his commitment to peace. He said that India launched Operation Sindoor under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She said that PM Modi sent seven groups of parliamentary delegations to several nations. The delegation, led by Supriya Sule, includes Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Vikramjeet Singh Sahney, Manish Tewari, Anurag Singh Thakur, Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Anand Sharma, V Muraleedharan and Syed Akbaruddin. The Supriya Sule-led parliamentary delegation also paid a floral tribute to Indian soldiers at the Heliopolis War Memorial, who laid their lives in World War I and World War II. The delegation aims to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism while engaging with leaders in key countries.
Mint
32 minutes ago
- Mint
Housefull 5 advance booking: Akshay Kumar movie eyes massive opening, nearly 70,000 tickets sold
Housefull 5 advance booking: The much-awaited comedy movie Housefull 5, starring Akshay Kumar, is all set to hit the big screen on June 6. Advance bookings for the film have now begun. According to media reports, Housefull 5 is set to be the franchise's widest release, screening in over 5,000 screens nationwide. With strong ticket sales and such a massive release, Housefull 5 is in for a clash against Kamal Haasan's Thug Life. According to industry tracker Sacnilk, Housefull 5 has so far sold 69,828 tickets for 9,625 shows in all formats across India. The film has collected a gross of ₹ 2.12 crore from ticket sales. Furthermore, considering block seats, the movie is set to have an opening with ₹ 5.67 crore gross earnings. States like Maharashtra and the Delhi NCR region top the list with maximum revenue from first-day advance booking. Gujarat follows closely on the list, followed by Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana. City-wise, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune have the highest number of screenings for Housefull 5. The comedy movie is also the costliest film of the Housefull series. The film's total budget is reported to be ₹ 225 crore, without print and advertisement costs. At this budget, Housefull 5 is also the costliest Indian comedy film. Makers had previously said that Housefull 5 would be made with a budget of ₹ 350 crore. However, after some casting changes, the cost was reduced significantly. The makers had dropped a teaser on April 30, marking 15 years of the Housefull series. It featured a new story, set on a fancy cruise ship and a murder mystery. The trailer started with a voiceover by Nana Patekar explaining the plot of the film. A billionaire is marking his 100th birthday on a luxurious yacht with a star-studded party and decides to give his inheritance to his 'Jolly'. Then, confusion starts as three Jollys claim to be the real heirs of the property: Jalabuddin (Riteish Deshmukh), Jalbhushan (Abhishek Bachchan), and Julius (Akshay Kumar). Directed by Tarun Mansukhani, Housefull 5 stars Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa, Nargis Fakhri, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Nana Patekar, Chitrangada Singh, Fardeen Khan, Chunky Pandey, Johnny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Dino Morea, Ranjeet, Soundarya Sharma, Nikitin Dheer, and Akashdeep Sabir.
Mint
32 minutes ago
- Mint
RBI MPC meeting: Date, time, where & how to watch Governor Sanjay Malhotra's livestream
The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting is under close scrutiny this week, with expectations of a possible third consecutive 25-basis-point (bps) cut in the repo rate. The expectation from this bi-monthly monetary policy comes as inflation continues to remain below the median target of 4 per cent, and to push growth amid continued global uncertainty triggered by the US tariff moves, a PTI report noted. India's GDP growth has been estimated to have slowed to four-year low of 6.5 per cent during fiscal 2024-25. Retail inflation in April 2025 was at 3.16 per cent, the lowest year-on-year inflation after July 2019. The RBI MPC meet commenced today, on June 4, 2025. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra is set to announce the outcome of the three-day meeting on June 6, 2025, at 10 am. Additionally, his remarks will be closely observed for insights into the central bank's policy stance, GDP growth projections, and CPI inflation forecasts. This will be his third rate announcement since taking over from Shaktikanta Das. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra's RBI MPC statement will be streamed live on the the central bank's YouTube channel, official Twitter account and on the RBI website from 10 am on June 6, 2025. You can watch his live address to the media on the same platform. Later at 12 noon, the same platforms will also livestream Malhotra's press conference post the RBI MPC announcement. The six-member MPC headed by Governor Malhotra cut rates in the previous two meetings held (February and April 2025), bringing it to 6 per cent. They also changed the stance from neutral to accommodative in its April policy. In response to the 50-bps cut in the policy repo rate since February 2025, most of the banks have reduced their repo-linked external benchmark based lending rates (EBLRs) and marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR). According to Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, Bank of Baroda, the committee is likely to cut rates by 25 bps again. 'We do believe that given the rather benign inflation conditions and the liquidity situation which has been made very comfortable through various measures of the RBI, the MPC would go in for a 25 bps cut in the repo rate on the (June) 6th. The commentary on both growth and inflation will be important as there are expectations of revisions in their forecasts for both the parameters,' he said. He also expects that the RBI will detail its analysis on how the global environment would be affecting the Indian economy considering that the tariff reprieve provided by the US would end in July. Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, ICRA said with CPI inflation forecast to trail 4 per cent for a large part of this fiscal, monetary easing by the MPC is likely to continue. 'A 25 bps rate cut is expected next week, followed by two more cuts over the subsequent two policy reviews, taking the repo rate to 5.25 per cent by the end of the cycle,' she said.
