American electric vehicle major Tesla is expected to send a team to India this month for scouting a potential location for its proposed facility says a report by Financial Times.
The report states that the EV maker is looking at a proposed site in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, which will act as its potential manufacturing hub in the region.
The company is expected to invest around $2-3 billion (Rs 16,662 crore to Rs 25,000 crore) towards the facility.
Furthermore, this proposed facility will also play a crucial role in Tesla’s plans to roll-out a sub-$30,000 (Rs 25 lakh) EV for not only the domestic but also export markets.
The timing of the proposed announcement comes at a time when India gears up for the General Elections, and if things materialise would play in the favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for the Make in India initiative.
This would also mark the second such new major investment in the country after Vietnam’s VinFast Group broke ground for its $500 million (Rs 4,165 crore) facility in Tamil Nadu in February 2024.
This is the not the first time Tesla has sent its team to India, and in fact, the EV maker has been flirting with the idea of manufacturing EVs in the country for several years.
It was way back in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Tesla’s factory and met Elon Musk amidst his 5-day official visit to the United States of America.
