If you’re a huge Tesla fan and have been waiting for Elon Musk to fulfill the announcement he made in February to bring the electric car company to India by this summer, then there is some bad news for you. Breaking the hearts of many prospective Indian buyers of the Model 3, Musk indicated his firm may have to put on hold the company’s India debut citing the absence of an ecosystem for the supply of electric vehicle components as the reason. Responding to a query from Twitter user Avinash Singh on Tesla’s Indian plans, Musk himself identified a major roadblock – the country’s “Make in India” push which requires foreign companies to source at least 30% of the components locally. “The supply doesn’t yet exist in India to support that,” Musk tweeted on Monday.
Government officials and industry officials expressed surprise at Musk’s reference to conditions for local sourcing. Reported by Economic Times, Sugato Sen, deputy director general, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers categorically said mandatory local sourcing requirements do not exist for auto firms. But practically speaking, there are other potential hurdles for Tesla to overcome. India’s crowded roads and unreliable electricity grid pose massive challenges for the company and it won’t be easy for the company to deal with. So, the carmaker’s initial announcement seemed quite unlikely and unconvincing.
[Via:Cnn]
