Tesla is planning to double the amount of components it will import from India to almost $2 billion, the country's Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal announced.
Goyal, who is touring the US, visited the EV maker's manufacturing plant at Fremont, California, and then posted the news on X, the social media platform rebranded from Twitter. "Proud to see the growing importance of Auto component suppliers from India in the Tesla EV supply chain. It is on its way to double its components imports from India," Goyal posted. He was unable to meet Tesla CEO Elon Musk during the visit, however.
Goyal was supposed to meet with Musk and hold wide ranging discussions. Reuters last week said the talks would take in a possible Tesla factory in India, something Musk has publicly claimed to want, chances of the company manufacturing a $24,000 car locally, increasing the amount of auto components it sources from India, and setting up charging infrastructure across the country.
In September, Goyal had said that Tesla was aiming to source between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion worth of components from India this year, having bought around $1 billion worth of components last year.
Goyal also said on X that he was "extremely delighted" to see talented Indian engineers and finance professionals "contributing to Tesla's remarkable journey to transform mobility".
Tesla's next gigafactory is the source of much global excitement, and several countries have pitched themselves to the company for setting up a manufacturing plant within their borders.
The EV pioneer has six factories worldwide, and is building a seventh in Mexico. Musk has said an eighth is likely to be announced by end of this year, but the global slowdown in EV sales might cause the decision to be deferred: reports have already indicated that Tesla might be going slow in setting up the Mexico factory as well.
Musk had earlier told reporters, "I am confident that Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible", and said the country had strong potential for all three pillars of the sustainable energy space: solar power, stationary battery packs and electric vehicles.
However, the world's richest man is also being wooed by France, Indonesia and Turkey, among others.
Recently, another new geography opened up when Tesla registered a company in Chile, creating its first direct commercial operation in Latin America.
Tesla Chile was registered in September, and says its operations will include "the import, export, manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sale of vehicles, especially electric vehicles," while also undertaking commercial activities such as the generation and supply of electricity.
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