Elon Musk's Tesla starts site search in India to build electric cars; Maharashtra, Gujarat & Tamil Nadu on list: Report

Elon Musk-led Tesla Inc will send a team to India this month to scout for sites for a proposed $2 billion to $3 billion electric car plant, said a report by the Financial Times on Wednesday.

The electric vehicle (EV) maker will send its team by late April to study sites for the plant, with a focus on states that have automotive hubs such as Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, the report said. 

The report came as the company reported a sharp decline in sales for the March quarter.

ALSO READ: Tesla stock declines over 5% on sharp fall in Q1 sales

Austin-based Tesla said that it delivered 386,810 vehicles worldwide from January through March, almost 9 per cent below the 423,000 it sold in the same quarter of last year.

Its sales dropped as competition increased worldwide, global electric vehicle sales growth slowed, and price cuts failed to lure new buyers.

Deliveries of the Models 3 and Y dropped 10.3 per cent year-on-year to 369,783. Sales of other models, the aging X and S and the new Cybertruck, rose almost 60 per cent to 17,027. 

In January, the EV maker had predicted “notably lower” sales growth this year.

ALSO READ: Modi’s Big Bet on Musk in India Might Just Work

In March, the Indian government reduced import taxes on certain electric vehicles produced by automakers that commit to invest at least $500 million and start manufacturing in the country within three years. 

According to a Reuters report, in July last year, the company had said that it was interested in building a factory in India to produce an electric vehicle priced at $24,000. It had also sought lower taxes on more expensive models it wanted to sell in India. 

In June last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said: “It was excellent and a very good conversation.”

“I am confident Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible,” he had said.