Tata-Mahindra is ready to welcome Elon Musk, will Tesla sail through with the help of Donald Trump?
Elon Musk has been trying to bring his Tesla car to India for a long time. For this, he has talked to the government about many concessions. Meanwhile, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra are doing new wonders every day in the electric passenger vehicle segment in India. Both companies seem ready to welcome Tesla, so is Elon Musk going to get support from the change of power in America i.e. the return of Donald Trump.
The closeness between US President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk can be gauged from the fact that Elon Musk has been made the head of the newly formed 'Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This is such a big responsibility that Elon Musk can directly interfere in the policymaking of America.
Not only this, Donald Trump has also announced a new tariff system to support American business during his tenure. During his previous tenure, he has raised the issue of high tax on many American products including Harley Davidson in India. In such a situation, due to his good relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he can talk about some more concessions to ensure Tesla's entry in India.
Tata-Mahindra changed the game in India
Here, Tata and Mahindra have completely changed the game of India's electric car segment. Models like Tiago, Tigor, Nexon, Curve and Punch are also available in electric versions in Tata's portfolio. While the company is going to make a big entry in this segment with Tata Sierra.
On the other hand, Mahindra & Mahindra has launched cars like XEV 9e and BE 6e. Both these cars have advanced level ADAS system, which provides facilities ranging from drive control to auto parking. Not only this, the company has also upgraded its ADAS according to Indian conditions.
For example, the ADAS of these vehicles not only controls the speed when a human comes in front, but also senses when an animal like a cow or dog comes on the road and automatically controls the speed and applies brakes. In this way, it goes one step ahead of Tesla. Moreover, the price of these cars is Rs 21.90 lakh for XEV 9e and Rs 18.90 lakh for BE 6e, which can be a big challenge for Tesla.
Tesla wants these concessions
Initially, for Tesla's entry into India, Elon Musk had sought permission to import his cars as Complete Built Units (CBU) for some time and test the market by selling them in the Indian market. For this, he wanted the government to give Tesla a concession in import tax, because in India, CBU vehicles are taxed up to 100 percent.
Whereas on this demand, the Indian government said that Elon Musk should set up a Tesla factory in India and take advantage of the discounts available under the government's PLI scheme. After this, Tesla's coming to India was put on hold. Then after some time, the Indian government changed its EV policy and reduced the import duty for foreign electric car companies.
After this, Elon Musk planned to come to India and also planned to meet PM Narendra Modi. But his plan got cancelled at the last moment. After this, there is currently no major update regarding Tesla's arrival in India.