Tesla is in initial talks with the largest Indian integrated power company, Tata Power, about a possible agreement about electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in India, CNBC-TV18 reported on Friday, citing sources, as the U.S. EV maker prepares to set up foot in the country.
The talks are still in very early stages, and no agreement has been signed yet, the sources told CNBC-TV18.
According to the outlet, Tesla plans to initially have two or three sales outlets in India with the official launch this year, and will tie up with at least four or five of its local component suppliers.
Since the start of this year, various reports and comments from Indian officials have suggested that Tesla is preparing to set up an assembly, or possibly manufacturing, unit in India.
In January 2021, Tesla incorporated an Indian subsidiary, Tesla Motors India and Energy Private Limited, in the city of Bengaluru in Karnataka.
Last month, the chief minister of the state of Karnataka, B S Yediyurappa, said that Tesla would set up a car manufacturing unit in India.
“American firm Tesla will set up the car-manufacturing unit in Karnataka,” the Chief Minister of the state of Karnataka, B S Yediyurappa, said in February, as quoted by the Press Trust of India.
According to documents seen by Reuters, the announcement of Tesla’s future EV factory in India was part of a longer document with highlights of the Indian budget.
Setting foot in India has been a goal for Tesla for some time. Elon Musk has also entertained this idea with his Twitter followers. Musk has set sights on the potentially huge but largely undeveloped EV market in India, saying in 2019 that he ‘would love’ Tesla to be there within 2021. Back in 2018, Musk said that challenging government regulations prevented Tesla from entering India.
