Tesla in India? Elon Musk hints at possible summer launch

Silicon Valley maverick and serial entrepreneur Elon Musk may just have piqued the interest of automakers and car enthusiasts in India with a casual tweet to a query on when it plans to open a Tesla unit in India.

Responding to Ishan Goel's question on the micro-blogging site, founder and CEO Musk hinted at a possible India launch as early as summer of 2017. "Hoping for summer this year," was his straight reply.



However, if past events are anything to go by, it could be premature to get hysterical at this news at this stage. Musk had earlier announced his plans to enter the Indian market post the launch of Model 3 last year. At an earlier occasion, following PM Narendra Modi's visit to Tesla's Silicon Valley factory, Musk had also mooted the idea of setting up a battery plant in India. But what cannot be contended is the auto giant's interest in the Indian market.

Road ahead
This should not come as a surprise. According to the Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers ( SIAM), India's automotive sector is worth $74 billion today and is expected to achieve a turnover of $300 billion by 2026. At the current rate, the industry is poised to become the third-largest auto market by the end of the current fiscal.

This comes at a good time for the Indian market too, with the government's increased focus on digitisation and its ultimate aim to be a 100% electric vehicle nation by 2030. In fact, it is currently working on a scheme to provide electric cars on zero down payment.

At an event organised by CII Young India last year, Power Minister Piyush Goyal had said that "India can become the first country of its size which will run 100& of electric vehicles. We are trying to make this programme self-financing."