Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla Inc., arrives at the Axel Springer Award ceremony in Berlin, Germany, on Tuesday, December 1, 2020.
Johannessen-Koppitz | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Tesla took a step closer to its launch in India later this year by registering a company in the country, a regulatory document showed on Tuesday.
Tesla Motors India and Energy Private Limited were formed on January 8, based in the southern city of Bengaluru, a hub for several global technology companies.
The lawsuit shows that the Indian unit has three directors, including David Feinstein, who is currently a senior Tesla executive, according to his LinkedIn profile.
India’s transport minister, Nitin Gadkari, told a local newspaper in December that the American electric car maker would start with sales and then look at assembly and manufacturing.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has tweeted several times in recent years, including in October 2020, about an imminent foray into India.
The shift comes at a time when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is promoting the production and use of electric vehicles to reduce the country’s oil dependency and decrease pollution.
But efforts were thwarted by a lack of investment in manufacturing and infrastructure, such as charging stations.
To boost investment, India plans to offer $ 4.6 billion in incentives to companies that create advanced battery manufacturing facilities, according to a government proposal seen by Reuters.