IANS | 14 Nov, 2023
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that he visited
Tesla’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Fremont, California,
at a time when the centre is reportedly considering a request from Elon
Musk-run electric car company to lower tariffs for imported electric
vehicles (EVs).
Goyal posted on X that it was "extremely delighted
to see talented Indian engineers and finance professionals working at
senior positions and contributing to Tesla’s remarkable journey to
transform mobility”.
“Also proud to see the growing importance of
Auto component suppliers from India in the Tesla EV supply chain. It is
on its way to double its components imports from India. Missed Elon
Musk’s magnetic presence and I wish him a speedy recovery,” the Union
Minister added.
The Tesla owner however, apologised to Goyal for not being able to meet him as he was keeping unwell.
“It
was an honour to have you visit Tesla! My apologies for not being able
to travel to California today, but I look forward to meeting at a future
date,” Musk replied.
Goyal and Musk were scheduled to meet during
the Minister’s US visit, months after the SpaceX and X owner met Prime
Minister Narendra Modi in the US, and revealed he was keen to make
significant investments in India.
According to a latest Financial
Times report, citing sources, the automaker has asked the Indian
government for an initial tariff concession that would offset India's
steep customs duties of 70 per cent for cars under $40,000 and 100 per
cent for cars above $40,000.
"Their view has always been that
they need some tariff concessions at least in the interim period. It
would have some kind of sunset clause," one of the officials was quoted
as saying in the report.
Tesla had asked for the concession as a condition for constructing a plant in the country.
The reduced tariffs would apply to all EV manufacturers.
The
officials stated that the reduced rate under consideration would be 15
per cent for EVs of all prices, but that the policy had not yet been
agreed upon within the government, the report mentioned.
In
September, reports surfaced that Tesla is planning to build a factory
for battery storage in India and has submitted a proposal for the same
to the government.
The electric car-maker proposed supporting the
country's battery storage capabilities with its 'Powerwall' during
recent meetings.
Musk is also aiming to build a Tesla supply system in India.
