Tesla officially enters India; drives in to Bengaluru with new company

US electric car giant Tesla finally entered India and set up an R&D center in Bengaluru.

Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa also tweeted to notify that Tesla is setting up its

research and development (R&D) center in Bengaluru.

Ending years of wait and expectation, electric car giant Tesla has finally entered India

by registering the company in Bengaluru. According to the details available on the

Company website, Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Limited has been

incorporated and the registered address in Lavelle Road, Bengaluru.

Tesla India will be led by three directors – Vaibhav Taneja, Venkatrangam Sreeram, and

David Jon Feinstein – based on data from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The

authorized and paid-up capital are listed at Rs 15 lakh and Rs 1 lakh respectively.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa also tweeted on Tuesday to announce that

Tesla is setting up its R&D center in Bengaluru to commence its operations in India

soon. A strong pitch has been made by the Karnataka government to invite Tesla to the

state.

“Karnataka will lead India`s journey towards Green Mobility. Electric Vehicle

Manufacturer Tesla will soon start its operations in India with an R&D unit in Bengaluru.

I welcome @elonmusk to India & Karnataka and wish him all the very best,” tweeted

Yediyurappa.

Tesla is also in touch with other state governments like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu

Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh to start its operations. Last month, Union Road Transport

and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari said that Tesla will begin sales operations in early

2021 and then “maybe” look at assembling and manufacturing vehicles in the country.

Elon Musk, who overtook Amazon founder Jeff Bezos last week as the wealthiest man

in the world with a whopping $195 billion net worth, said in October last year that the

electric car maker is finally ready to enter the Indian market next year. Reacting to a

tweet by Tesla Club India, Musk said: “Will release order configurator probably in

January.”

Tesla India is most likely to debut in India with the Model 3 sedan which will take the

CBU route at the beginning. Tesla’s entry comes at a time when India is increasing its

electric vehicle charging infrastructure to significantly increase the proportion of

electric vehicles on the roads.

Besides electric vehicles, the US-based clean energy firm makes battery storage from

home to grid-scale, solar roof tiles, and solar panels.

In September last year, Tesla officials held talks with the Karnataka government to

open its research facility in this tech hub. In India, the R&D unit is Tesla’s second

outside the US. It’s first such overseas center is in Shanghai where it has a Gigafactory

to make electric cars.

The tech-savvy Karnataka is the first state in the country to have an electric vehicle

policy to drive investments in the sunrise sector. A number of startups like Ola Electric,

Ather, and Sub Mobility have set up their operations in the city.