'Elon Musk can come to India only if...', Heavy Industries Minister says this on Tesla's India entry

Elon Musk and Tesla are welcome in India, but the government will not budge on the Aatmanirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India policy, according to Union minister Mahendra Nath Pandey. Tesla, which has been seeking a reduction in import charges in order to sell its vehicles in India, has stated that it will not manufacture its goods in India unless it is first allowed to sell and repair its vehicles there, according to the company founder and CEO Elon Musk.  

"Tesla will not put a manufacturing plant in any location where we are not allowed first to sell & service cars," Musk had said in a tweet responding to a user asking about Tesla's plans to set up a manufacturing plant in India.

Addressing The Global Summit on TV9 on Saturday, the Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises said: "The government under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi has moved ahead swiftly on the Aatmanirbhar Bharat policy and received a very good response on it, and we are not going to compromise on that in any way.

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"Tesla and Elon Musk are welcome to India but only according to the country's policies," he added. In August last year, Musk had said Tesla may set up a manufacturing unit in India if it first succeeds with imported vehicles in the country.

Currently, India imposes 100 per cent import duty on fully imported cars with CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) value more than USD 40,000 and 60 per cent on those costing less than that amount.

With inputs from PTI