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Musk Accuses India of Not Allowing Tesla to Sell and Service Cars to Deny Plant There

Elon Musk spends a lot of his time on Twitter. Only a bit of what he writes there matters, mostly when he talks about Tesla. Sadly, it does not mean that it makes sense or is true. When asked by an Indian follower if Tesla would have a factory in the country, Musk replied that Tesla would not “put a manufacturing plant in any location where we are not allowed first to sell & service cars.” Rage and mockery ensued.
Elon Musk states Tesla will not have a factory in India because the country does not allow it to sell and service cars there, which is not true 6 photos
Photo: National Geographic/Google Maps/edited by autoevolution
Elon MuskElon MuskElon MuskElon MuskElon Musk states Tesla will not have a factory in India because the country does not allow it to sell and service cars there, which is not true
The former was triggered because what Musk said is pretty far from the truth. First of all, India has not forbidden Tesla to sell and service cars in its territory. It only told Musk that he would not get special treatment to do that.

Tesla asked for tax incentives to import vehicles and test demand in India. The local government does not want to stimulate imports. On the contrary: India is known for being a protectionist market, taxing up to 100% on imported vehicles. Narendra Modi wants companies willing to sell in India to also produce in the country to deserve subsidies. Still, it never went as far as not allowing any company to sell within its borders.

Apart from the usual Tesla investors and apologists, Musk got a lot of backlash for writing something evidently false. Some users mentioned that India and China are having some border issues, which is the reason for India’s transportation minister, Nitin Gadkari, to have said that importing EVs from China would not be “a good proposition.”

Even the Tesla Club India was very vocal about what Musk stated, showing that some Tesla Clubs do not take what Musk says at face value. The club also brought up the massive issue with reservations for the Model 3 in India. Taken since 2016, most have not been reimbursed.

The Tesla Club India seized the opportunity to ask the Tesla CEO directly about that. If the company had no intention to sell its cars in the country, why did it accept reservations from Indian customers in the first place? The club members stated that “the sheer inefficient communication with reservation holders is truly perplexing.”

Regarding mockery, it followed because Tesla would never have a factory in Texas if what Musk wrote was really true. The company cannot use its direct sales model in that state. It could establish dealerships there to sell its EVs. As it refuses to do so, Texan customers cannot buy Tesla vehicles at home. In Musk’s book, that is probably equivalent to not allowing Tesla to sell. Yet, Giga Austin is there to prove the company’s CEO wrong.

Although the mockery and backlash will not change anything, it is important to register Musk gave a pretty lousy excuse for never having a factory in India. The most likely reason for that is that the executive would contradict himself if he confessed a factory in that country is out of the question because Tesla did not receive the tax incentives it asked for. Musk once said he was against them. Perhaps he should add that what he hates is not getting them.

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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
Gustavo Henrique Ruffo profile photo

Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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