On November 14, India's Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said on the social media platform X that Tesla plans to double its imports of components from India. Goyal had previously visited Tesla's factory in Fremont, California. He wrote on the X platform: "It is good to see the growing importance of Indian auto parts suppliers in Tesla's electric vehicle supply chain. The company is planning to double its imports of components from India." Goyal added that he was unable to meet Tesla CEO Elon Musk during the factory tour. In September, Goyal said Tesla planned to source $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion worth of parts from India this year, after buying $1 billion of parts last year. Earlier media reports said Goyal planned to meet with Musk in the United States this week and the two sides would discuss Tesla's plans to build a factory in India, including building a new $24,000 car there, sourcing more parts and setting up charging infrastructure across the country.
As part of the preferential policies being developed, India is considering reducing import taxes on electric vehicles if international automakers commit to producing cars locally. At present, India sets a tax rate of 70% on imported electric vehicles under $40,000, and rises further to 100% if it exceeds $40,000. Indian officials say the government is considering slashing import duties to 15%, though no agreement has been reached on preferential policies. The Indian government is analysing the possible impact of the new policy on the country's electric market, as local automakers say that lowering import taxes on electric vehicles could disrupt the market and hurt their plans.
