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Tesla (TSLA-0.91%) has begun hiring staff in India after CEO Elon Musk met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, potentially putting an end to the company’s delayed entry into the market.
Although just 13 jobs were posted on Tesla’s LinkedIn, each of which is located in Mumbai’s metropolitan region, the development is enough to raise investors’ hopes. “The Tesla community has been waiting years for the company to enter India, and now it’s finally happening,” wrote prominent Tesla influencer Sawyer Merritt on X.
Musk had talked about entering India as far back as 2019, promising on multiple occasions to try and get into the market. In 2021, Tesla incorporated an affiliate — Tesla India Motors and Energy — but plans to sell its electric vehicles in India were put on hold a year later.
One of the major reasons behind that delay was India’s protectionist tariffs on imports of foreign electric vehicles, Musk has said. India levies taxes of 70% or even 100% on imported EVs, depending on their value.
Despite Tesla’s lobbying efforts, local manufacturers opposed changes for years, although India’s federal government in 2024 announced that some companies would be able to pay lower rates under certain conditions. Firms that commit to investing at least $500 million and begin domestic manufacturing within three years are able to import up to 8,000 EVs each year at a 15% tax rate.
About a month after India announced the new rates, Musk was supposed to meet with Modi in the country, before canceling and heading to China instead. Their meeting last week — where they discussed space exploration, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies — was the first since 2023, when Musk said he was confident Tesla would enter India “as soon as humanly possible.”
Musk’s SpaceX has also been interested in entering India, where it is currently not legally allowed to operate its Starlink service and has a license application under review. The CEO has wanted to enter the market since 2021, but was halted by regulatory issues.