Highlights:
- The firm has registered Tesla India Motors and Energy Pvt Ltd with RoC Bangalore, according to a regulatory filing
- Elon Musk, World’s Richest Person and Tesla’s founder and chief executive officer, said on Twitter last year that the company plans to enter India ‘for sure’ in 2021.
- The expected entry of Tesla comes at a time when green vehicle technologies are being promoted by the Union and state governments to help reduce air pollution.
Ahead of the expected launch of its electric cars in India this year, regulatory filings revealed that billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. has set up a subsidiary in Bengaluru.
A Registrar of Companies (RoC) filing revealed that Tesla India Motors and Energy Pvt. Ltd has its registered office in the Lavelle Road, which is a business district in Bengaluru city, and the company has a paid-up capital of ₹1 lakh and authorized capital of ₹15 lakh.
Last year on Twitter, Musk, founder and chief executive officer of the Cupertino-based Tesla, said that the company aims to join India “for sure” in 2021. As its three directors, Tesla India has named Vaibhav Taneja, Venkatrangam Sreeram and David Jon Feinstein.
Gaurav Gupta, state principal secretary for commerce and Industries said, “For the past few months, we have been working with Tesla, and it is happy news that it has chosen to incorporate its company here. We have persuaded them that Bengaluru is not only the capital of technology, but also the aerospace and space capital. Mr. Gupta further added, “It has the right kind of talent pool for any kind of technology collaboration.”
The State Principal Secretary for Commerce and Industries also added, “It is left to their discretion how they plan to enter and take it forward. Hopefully, this will result in a sales office, research and further developments as necessary.”
The state had previously said that Tesla would open a research and development (R&D) center in Bengaluru and that it had given space for any other plans that the company may have, including a factory.
In December, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, said that Tesla will launch sales in India earlier this year and later venture into the assembly and production of electric cars.
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Tesla did not respond to an email requesting more information.
The planned entry of Tesla comes at a time when green vehicle technologies are promoted by the Union and state governments to increase their adoption to help reduce air pollution.
Mobility start-ups like Ola, Uber, Bounce and Vogo have set goals for their fleets to include more electric vehicles (EVs). With a two million two-wheeler EV plant arriving in Tamil Nadu for about 2,400 crores, Ola is also entering EV production. Other major car manufacturers such as Mahindra, Hero and Hyundai and start-ups such as Ather Energy are moving forward plans to grab a greater share of India’s nascent EV market, which still accounts for less than 1% of the country’s overall automotive market.
Musk, who recently became the richest person to surpass Amazon Inc. founder Jeff Bezos in the world, also enjoys a cult-figure like status in India as he does abroad, contributing to the rising demand for Tesla and its products.
According to Puneet Gupta, director of IHS Markit, a data analytics company, “Tesla is considered to be one of the world’s most aspiring brands, and the establishment of its subsidiary is very important for India’s economy and its emerging EV industry.”
Gupta also said that, “This can be an electric mobility inflexion point in India and can convince many potential customers to consider buying an EV in the future.”
The Director of a Data Analytics Company HIS Markit, further said, “Tesla’s investment could also persuade other leading vehicle manufacturers and their component suppliers to invest in India for EV and related parts production.”
