Elon Musk's Tesla wants import duty cut but won't commit to make in India: Govt sources

Two days after Tesla founder Elon Musk tweeted that the electronic car maker is still working through a lot of challenges with the government, sources said that Tesla wants the Centre to reduce import duties on cars without any commitment of producing in India. 

At present, Tesla can bring in cars in Completely Knocked Down (CKD) form with zero duty and assemble and sell them here. The government has put in place a PLI scheme for the auto sector, particularly electric vehicles under which Tesla will get benefit if they produce here, sources said.

By such tweets Tesla is trying to put pressure on the government, sources told Republic TV, adding that the automobile company wants ease in import duty without any pledge on producing locally.

Responding to a Twitter user, Elon Musk on Thursday said that the company is facing a "lot of challenges " in India. However, he stated that Tesla is working through these challenges with the Indian government.

Telangana Min KT Rama Rao offers to help Tesla CEO Elon Musk to set up shop in India

In response to Musk's tweet,  Telangana’s Industry and Commerce Minister KT Rama Rao said that he will be happy in partnering with Tesla to work on the challenges faced by the company in India. 

Rao wrote, "Hey Elon, I am the Industry and Commerce Minister of Telangana state in India Will be happy to partner Tesla in working through the challenges to set shop in India/Telangana Our state is a champion in sustainability initiatives and a top-notch business destination in India."

In July last year, Musk had expressed that he was hopeful that Tesla EVs would be able to enter Indian markets with help of a "temporary tariff relief" from the Centre. The billionaire acknowledged that India's import duties are one of the highest in the world. Moreover, he stated that a temporary aid in the import duties for Tesla would be "much-appreciated" and would ease the launch of his latest electric cars in the country as soon as possible. 

Image: AP