Tesla Car Launch in India: Elon Musk says 'highest import duties' posing problem, says expecting temporary tariff relief for EVs from Indian Govt

Everyone wants to own a Tesla EV (Electric Vehicle), however, it appears Tesla's entry into the Indian market will take longer than expected. Amid growing clamour of bringing Tesla to India on Twitter, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Saturday cleared the air around EV giant's launch in India.  

Replying to a Twitter user, who asked Elon Musk to launch Tesla cars in India ASAP, Musk explained why it is difficult to bring Tesla cars to India. Tesla chief said he is facing difficulty in launching the cars in Indian market as "import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country." 

He also questioned India's sincereness in tackling climate goals put forth by the country saying clean energy vehicles are treated the same as diesel or petrol in India. 

"We want to do so, but import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country!  Moreover, clean energy vehicles are treated the same as diesel or petrol, which does not seem entirely consistent with the climate goals of India," tweeted Elon Musk. 

Sounding hopeful, he further said that he is expecting that there will be at least temporary relief for electric vehicles. 

"But we are hopeful that there will be at least a temporary tariff relief for electric vehicles. That would be much appreciated," he said in another tweet.  

It is to be known that Tesla on July 23 had written to Indian ministries seeking a big reduction in import duties on electric vehicles (EVs), as per Reuters. 

According to the international agency, the letter said reducing duties would “boost demand and generate revenue for the government.”  

However, the report also pointed out that it would be not easily achievable and would face resistance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration which has championed high import taxes for many industries in a bid to boost local manufacturing.