Tesla, the leading electric car manufacturer based in Palo Alto plans to launch electric cars in India
Tesla, the leading electric car manufacturer based in Palo Alto had plans to launch electric cars in India by the year 2017. But the plans were further postponed due to strict government regulations in India.
Deepak Ahuja is the man behind the scenes. He joined Tesla in the early years and was the first CFO of the company. Ahuja is an experienced professional with fifteen years of work experience in Ford. He has a Bachelor Degree in Ceramics from the Indian Institute of Technology Banaras (BHU). He further did his Master’s Degree from Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering. He also holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. He joined Tesla in the year 2008 as the first CFO of the company.
Musk wanted a rollout of cars in India and also prepared for the launch of the Tesla Model 3 but due to challenging regulations by the Government of India, the company could not start its operations in India. Musk exclaimed that he would love to be in India (the Tesla cars as in) but would have to postpone it. Musk has handed over the job to Ahuja regarding the matters related to India. He also stated that we will come to India when the CFO felt it was the right time to do so. Ahuja. Ahuja operates from the San Carlos headquarters of Tesla and has also visited India in recent years to discuss the regulations by the Government, to give a green signal to the company for India.
The make in India scheme insists Tesla to source about 30% of parts locally as one of the many challenging points put up by the Government to start operations and sale of Tesla cars in India. To this Elon Musk replied that India is not yet ready to source as much as 30% as these many parts are not available in the country, which makes a further delay of the launch of Tesla cars. The entry model decided for India was the Model 3 priced at around $35,000 which is quite reasonable for what it offers, an Electric drive plus a Tesla.
The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi visited the manufacturing plant of Tesla based in Palo Alto, California. Elon Musk gave a tour of the plant and also discussed the technology used in the plant. They had a detailed conversation about electricity generation and the ways to skip ahead a few decades as in the case of cellphones. We are sure that Tesla will be soon seen in India or we can also witness another Tesla in India itself,Make in India.
Deepak Ahuja is on the verge of retirement which can actually slow down the Tesla dream in India. Musk although confirmed that the retirement of Ahuja will not take place immediately and Ahuja will still serve as a senior advisor to the company. Ahuja also mentioned that it is the best time for Tesla to enter India as the past couple of quarters of the company was very profitable and had an impressive cash flow. Tesla is relying on a really strong foundation and thus have the liberty of taking risks, as in plans to launch its cars in India. We can expect Tesla to launch in India within a few years and sooner if the Government of India is liberal with the policies.
