What if we Pakistanis get an opportunity to buy a Tesla car at the price of Toyota Corolla – sounds like a dream. Not surprisingly, this dream is about to come true in neighboring country, embarked on bringing EV giant (Tesla) on its own conditions.
British news agency dubbed Reuters has revealed that Tesla officials are scheduled to hold a meeting with India’s commerce minister this month aiming to explore the possibilities of establishing a factory in the country.
The primary objective of this factory would be to manufacture an entirely new car model, which the company has characterized as a $24,000 (PKR 6885355) vehicle. Surprisingly, this is the price a Toyota Corolla car in Pakistan.
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Tesla has conveyed its keenness to establish a factory in India with the aim of manufacturing affordable electric vehicles (EVs) for both the domestic market and overseas exports. The company has specifically expressed its intention to use this facility for producing the new, budget-friendly vehicle they have planned.
These discussions indicate a significant change in Tesla’s approach, as they come after the company’s attempts to lower import taxes on EVs imported to India faced obstacles due to government officials’ insistence on local car manufacturing commitments.
The upcoming meeting with the commerce minister holds great importance as it would mark the highest-level engagement between Tesla and the Indian government since June. During that previous meeting, Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, had a conversation with India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, where he expressed his intentions to make substantial investments in the country.
According to the reports, in the discussions concerning the possible Indian plant, Tesla representatives mentioned a new electric vehicle (EV) model priced at 2 million rupees ($24,000). This proposed model would be approximately 25% more affordable than Tesla’s current lowest-priced offering, the Model 3 sedan, which sells for around $32,200 in China.
