Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of Serum Institute of India, has advised Tesla chief and the world’s richest man Elon Musk to invest in India for high-quality, large-scale manufacturing of Tesla cars. Poonawala suggested that in case Musk’s deal to buy micro-blogging app Twitter doesn’t go through, he can use that freed up capital towards manufacturing Tesla in India.
Taking to Twitter, Adar Poonawalla asked Elon Musk to invest in India if he ended up not buying Twitter. He assured Musk that it would be the best investment the richest person in the world would ever make.
Hey @elonmusk just in case you don’t end up buying @Twitter, do look at investing some of that capital in INDIA for high-quality large-scale manufacturing of @Tesla cars. I assure you this will be the best investment you’ll ever make.
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) May 8, 2022
“Hey @elonmusk just in case you don’t end up buying @Twitter, do look at investing some of that capital in INDIA for high-quality large-scale manufacturing of @Tesla cars. I assure you this will be the best investment you’ll ever make,” Adar Poonawalla tweeted.
Poonawalla’s advice to Musk comes after the Tesla chief offered to buy Twitter for $44 billion, and had his offer accepted by the Twitter board. The richest person in the world, Elon Musk, has been eyeing the Indian market for a while, however, the automaker has stated that they have no plans to produce their premium electric cars in India but to import from China and sell it directly to customers.
Tesla has been demanding a reduction in import duties in India so that its cars produced elsewhere can be more affordable for Indian consumers. Musk had also publicly stated that his plans to bring Electric Vehicles to India were hampered by high import duties charged in the country.
“We want to do so, but import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country!” Musk had tweeted in July.
We want to do so, but import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2021
Moreover, clean energy vehicles are treated the same as diesel or petrol, which does not seem entirely consistent with the climate goals of India.
However, the Indian government has categorically told Tesla any tax concession can be considered once the company starts manufacturing electric vehicles in India.
Recently, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highway Nitin Gadkari said that he has told US-based electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla not to sell China-manufactured cars in India.
“I have asked Tesla not to sell electric cars in India which the company has manufactured in China. I have told the company to manufacture electric cars in India and also export cars from India,” the minister had said on Friday while addressing an event.
Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the Narendra Modi government would extend all necessary support to Tesla to set up its unit in India. He said that the negotiation is going on with Tesla regarding the company’s demand related to tax concessions.
The Indian government imposes a 100 per cent import duty on cars as completely built units (CBUs) attract customs duty ranging from 60 to 100 per cent. This depends on engine size and cost, insurance, and freight value less or above $40,000. Such high duties are meant to protect domestic manufacturers.
