Tesla will reportedly establish communication with the Indian government through Trade Minister Piyush Goyal. Reportedly, the meeting was to discuss the production of cheap electric cars, which will be sold for USD 24 thousand or the equivalent of IDR 360 million.
According to Reuters, Tesla has expressed interest in building a factory in India that will produce low-priced electric vehicles (EVs) with all-new status. This electric car is aimed at local and export markets. The meeting with India's Trade Minister was a continuation of efforts after they failed to request a reduction in import taxes last year. India insists on producing electric cars locally. This meeting will be a very important discussion between Tesla and the Indian government since last June. At that time, Elon Musk met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he wanted to make a significant investment in the country.
"I'm confident that Tesla will be in India, and we will do it as quickly as possible. Hopefully, we can announce something in the near future. We don't want to rush the announcement. But there will likely be significant investments and relationships in the future," Musk said after the meeting, as quoted by Telarati.
Currently, Tesla produces their electric cars in California and Texas on a United States basis. Apart from that, they have factories in Berlin and Shanghai, China, as the largest, contributing almost 40 percent of total production. Tesla is also currently building a Gigafactory in Mexico that will produce low-priced electric cars and high-volume platforms. Tesla says its next-generation vehicle platform will cut production costs by up to 50 percent.
Electric cars currently account for less than 2 percent of total vehicle sales in India, now the world's third-largest car market. This is what lured Tesla to come build a car and battery production base in India. Tesla has been aggressively discounting existing models since the start of the year. Meanwhile, Musk has repeatedly said his long-term success will depend on lowering the price of electric cars. Apart from India, Tesla is also targeting several countries that are focused on selling electric cars, including Indonesia.
Tesla Starts Production of Cheap Electric Cars in 2025
Tesla will immediately produce affordable electric cars in mid-2025. This affordable electric car is expected to be able to boost sales.
Reporting from Reuters on Thursday (January 25, 2024), Tesla has informed all supporting suppliers of this plan. The plan, codenamed Redwood, is interesting because this will be the cheapest electric car that Tesla has ever made.
"Two of our sources confirmed that the electric car will appear in the form of a compact crossover," Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, other information was conveyed by Carbuzz regarding the development of Tesla's cheap electric car. Tesla is reportedly determined to buy and dismantle new Honda Civic cars. "They want to find out how a car like the Honda Civic can be liked because of its affordable price, good performance, and popularity," said Carbuzz.
Tesla believes that by producing affordable electric cars, it can encourage a new wave of growth. Moreover, sales of Tesla electric cars are not what they were before. "In 2024, our vehicle volume growth rate will likely be much lower than the growth rate achieved in 2023," Tesla wrote in their report earlier this year.
As is known, Tesla CEO Elon Musk first promised to make a car costing USD 25,000, or the equivalent of IDR 389.6 million, in 2020. The price of the electric car will be positioned below the Tesla Model 2, which is now priced at USD 38,990, or around IDR 607.6 million..
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