Addressing The Global Summit on TV9 on Saturday, Union minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said that Elon Musk and Tesla are welcome in India but the government will not budge on its policy of Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India).
American electric carmaker Tesla, which has been seeking a reduction in import duties to sell its vehicles in India, will not manufacture its products locally unless it is allowed to first sell and service its cars in the country, company founder and chief executive Elon Musk had said last month.
"The government under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi has moved ahead swiftly on the Aatmanirbhar Bharat policy and received a very good response on it and we are not going to compromise on that in any way. "Tesla, Elon Musk are welcome to India but only according to the country's policies," added the Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
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In August last year, Musk had said Tesla may set up a manufacturing unit in India if it first succeeds with imported vehicles in the country. Currently, India imposes 100 percent import duty on fully imported cars with CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) value more than USD 40,000 and 60 percent on those costing less than that amount.
