KT Rama Rao invites Elon Musk to ‘set shop’ in Telangana

Rao said Telangana is a champion in sustainability initiatives and his government would be happy to partner with Tesla in working through the challenges.

New Delhi: Days after Tesla CEO Elon Musk spoke about challenges when asked about the electric car’s entry into the Indian market, TRS Working President KT Rama Rao has invited the billionaire businessman to “set shop” in Telangana.

Rao said Telangana is a champion in sustainability initiatives and his government would be happy to partner with Tesla in working through the challenges.

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“Hey Elon, I am the Industry and Commerce Minister of Telangana state in India. Will be happy to partner Tesla in working through the challenges to set shop in India/Telangana,” Rao said in a reply to Musk’s tweet.

“Our state is a champion in sustainability initiatives and a top notch business destination in India,” he added.

Musk on Thursday informed that the EV-maker is facing a “lot of challenges” for its car launch in India.

“Still working through a lot of challenges with the government,” Musk tweeted.

Musk was replying to a Twitter user, who asked: “Yo @elonmusk any further update as to when Tesla’s will launch in India? They’re pretty awesome and deserve to be in every corner of the world!”

Tesla wants to begin selling imported cars in India this year but says taxes in the country are among the highest in the world.

With a $39,990 global price tag, Tesla Model 3 may remain as an affordable model in the US but with import duties, it would become unaffordable in the Indian market with an expected price tag of around Rs 60 lakh.

Currently, India levies 100 per cent tax on the imported cars of price more than $40,000 (Rs 30 lakh) inclusive of insurance and shipping expenses, and cars less than $40,000 are subject to 60 per cent import tax.