Tesla is hiring in India, in mounting indicators it plans to enter the market shortly after Chief Government Officer Elon Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi within the US.
The electrical-vehicle maker sought candidates for 13 roles, together with customer-facing and back-end jobs, in response to ads on Monday on its LinkedIn page.
Not less than 5 of the positions, together with service technician and varied advisory roles, had been out there in each Mumbai and Delhi, whereas the remainder of the openings, resembling buyer engagement supervisor and supply operations specialist, had been for Mumbai.
Tesla and India have engaged on-and-off for years, however the carmaker had stayed away over considerations on excessive import duties. India diminished primary customs obligation on automobiles priced above $40,000 (roughly Rs. 34.7 lakh) from 110 % to 70 % earlier this month, providing a pre-emptive olive department to the US, which underneath President Donald Trump, plans to impose reciprocal tariffs.
Whereas India’s EV market remains to be nascent in comparison with China’s, it gives an avenue for Tesla to examine slowing gross sales after it posted its first annual drop in EV sales in over a decade.
Though India’s electric car sales barely touched 100,000 items final yr in comparison with China’s 11 million, it is a quickly rising EV market the place native and international automakers are doubling down on rolling out battery-powered automobiles.
Regardless of the job openings providing the strongest signal to this point of Tesla’s plans to promote automobiles in India, it is not the primary time the corporate has gone down this path. The Musk-led agency had kicked off a flurry of exercise in 2021 by establishing gross sales infrastructure in India, with a staff of over a dozen executives.
Backburner
It had even employed a lobbyist then to guide negotiations with the Indian authorities to decrease import tariffs — one thing that Musk has typically known as a deterrent to its India plans. A yr later, Tesla put its plans on the backburner, with all its native executives shifting on to different markets or to completely different roles exterior Tesla.
The lobbying efforts restarted someday in 2023 after Musk met PM Modi within the US, with the world’s richest particular person saying Tesla want to put money into India “as soon as humanly possible.”
The Indian authorities in March final yr unveiled a new initiative which supplied decrease tariffs of 15% for imports of electrical automobiles priced above $40,000 (roughly Rs. 34.7 lakh), if the carmakers dedicated to investing $500 million (roughly Rs. 4,347 crore) in India and start native manufacturing in three years. In April, Musk abruptly cancelled his India visit, citing “very heavy Tesla obligations,” and went to China as a substitute.
The most recent breakthrough comes after Musk and PM Modi met final week throughout the Indian chief’s US go to. In an X put up, PM Modi stated he mentioned “area, mobility, expertise and innovation”, with Musk, with none specifics on Tesla’s curiosity in promoting automobiles or investing in India.
Had an excellent assembly with @elonmusk in Washington DC. We mentioned varied points, together with these he’s obsessed with resembling area, mobility, expertise and innovation. I talked about India’s efforts in the direction of reform and furthering ‘Minimal Authorities, Most Governance.’ pic.twitter.com/7xNEqnxERZ
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 13, 2025
The India plans got here at a vital time for the EV maker because the adoption charge globally for electrical automobiles comes underneath stress and rivals like BYD Co. step up their sport. But it surely’s unclear whether or not Tesla intends to put money into India simply but.
Tesla wasn’t planning any new capacities or new manufacturing services and focusing as a substitute on utilizing “present manufacturing strains rather more effectively,” Musk had stated in an April 24 earnings name.
Trump’s Cupboard
Trump in a White Home press convention stated PM Modi agreed to begin negotiations to handle the US commerce deficit and increase US navy purchases, together with steps that can finally result in a deal for F-35 fighter jets.
Though Musk is a key member of Trump’s cupboard, the president did not say if the tech billionaire met PM Modi as a CEO of personal corporations or in his function with DOGE staff.
Musk’s function in Trump’s authorities has blurred the strains between his enterprise and political pursuits. Final month, Italy confirmed talks with Musk’s SpaceX for a deal to offer safe telecommunications for the nation’s authorities, a growth that adopted Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni assembly with then President-elect Trump in Florida.
© 2025 Bloomberg LP
(This story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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