Bhavish Aggarwal | Elon Musk : “Thanks, but no thanks,” Ola Electric’s Bhavish Aggarwal tells Elon Musk as Tesla snubs India

Aggarwal’s response comes a day after the Tesla boss tweeted that the US-based electric carmaker
won’t manufacture in India till it is permitted to sell and service its cars in the country.

“Tesla will not put a manufacturing plant in any location where we are not allowed first to sell & service cars,” Musk tweeted.

Tesla’s entry into the country has been on hold since 2019 as India levies a 60% import duty on EVs priced $40,000 or lower. The import duty is 100% on EVs priced more than $40,000.

Aggarwal’s post comes as the domestic EV manufacturer looks for sites to build its cell and electric vehicle factories. Ola Electric would require 1,000 acres of land to build its cell gigafactory and electric car factory, which is projected to bring in Rs 10,000 crore in investment.

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The firm already has 500 acre in Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu where it has built its Futurefactory, the world’s largest two-wheeler factory.

Ola’s current plans for a further 1,000 acres of land include a separate four-wheeler plant for its much-anticipated automobile factory, as well as a proposed cell gigafactory to supply cells for its two- and four-wheeler product lines.

Aggarwal has already stated that Ola will debut its first electric car in the next 2-3 years, which will be produced at a new 4W plant separate from the existing Futurefactory for 2Ws.

The Indian government is bullish on EVs and has introduced several incentives to spur manufacturing as well as demand for electric vehicles.

This includes the Rs 10,000 crore FAME II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles in India) and the Rs 18,000 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes.

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Tesla can benefit by manufacturing EVs in India: Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has previously urged Tesla to not import vehicles from China. Earlier this month, Gadkari said that if the US-based EV firm manufactures its cars in India then the company would get the required benefits.