Good news for Tesla fans in India: Elon Musk hopes to bring Tesla to the Indian market as soon as the summer of 2017.
This means that if everything works out, we could see Tesla launch in India in just a few months, but that's a big if. The widely popular electric carmaker has been planning to expand to India for quite a while now, yet nothing has materialized just yet.
Tesla In India: Hoping For A Summer Launch
Things seem a bit more hopeful now, with Musk mentioning a potential summer launch, but nothing is set yet and Musk has not offered any additional details at this point.
Musk simply answered a question on Twitter and said he's hopeful regarding a Tesla launch in India in the "summer this year," which would mean sometime between late June and early September.
@goel_ishan Hoping for summer this year
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 7, 2017
Tesla's Promise Of Affordability
Not too long ago, Tesla announced plans to launch a more affordable electric vehicle - the $35,000 Tesla Model 3. The variant racked up a record number of preorders thanks to its affordable price tag, albeit it recently came to light that it won't get a 100 kWh battery. This may be disappointing for fans expecting a large battery that would allow for a longer range, but at $35,000 it still sounds promising.
Musk said that the aggressively priced Tesla Model 3 would go on sale in a number of new markets including India, New Zealand, Singapore, Brazil and South Africa, and the vehicle is expected to become available toward the end of this year. Nevertheless, the Tesla Model 3 could still see a few delays, depending on production rate.
Indian Expansion Plans And Hurdles
When it comes to Tesla's Indian expansion, the company has long been keen on reaching the market. Back in 2014, Tesla considered the manufacturing opportunities in India, mulling whether to launch facilities in the country, but the project failed to materialize.
Tesla never went through with the plans because some tax liabilities, as well as hefty import duty on cars and components, made it difficult. Indian government officials such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari showed interest in welcoming Tesla to India, and tried to come up with solutions that would work for all parties.
Gadkari offered Tesla land at major ports in India so that the company could manage import and export operations to South and Southeast Asian countries, news outlet The Tech Portal reports. Modi, meanwhile, visited a Tesla facility in San Jose, California and was intrigued by the sustainable and innovative practices employed, which could be particularly useful in rural India. Modi even proposed to Musk that Tesla open its Gigafactory in India.
That said, while there's a lot of interest and real plans to bring Tesla to India, we're not there just yet. Musk hopes to see it happen this summer, but nothing is set in stone and there are still notable hurdles to overcome for this to happen - including India's lack of charging stations of electric vehicles.
That's not to say that it definitely won't happen, just that it remains to be seen how things will pan out. Mentioning a potential summer launch indicates that Tesla is making progress with its plans to expand to India, but it might be best to take this news with a grain of salt until Tesla makes a concrete announcement.
