A day after Tesla chief Elon Musk tweeted that the electric car major is working through a lot of challenges with the union government to launch its products in India, Telangana Industries Minister KT Rama Rao asked the US-based auto maker to set up shop in the southern state.
Hey Elon, I am the Industry & 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 & a top notch business destination in India, Rama Rao tweeted on Friday.
Last year, Tesla had sought a reduction in import duties on electric vehicles (EVs) in India.
The heavy industries ministry had asked the electric car major to first start manufacturing its iconic electric vehicles in India before any tax concessions can be considered.
The central government sources had noted that they were not giving such concessions to any auto firm, and giving duty benefits to Tesla will not send a good signal to other companies that have invested billions of dollars in India.