Tesla Looking at Bengaluru for India Gigafactory: Report

Earlier this month we reported on Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s confirmation that the electric vehicle (EV) company will expand into India.

Now, the Economic Times has reported that the Indian state of Karnataka has pitched its capital city of Bengaluru to Tesla, as a potential site for the country’s first Tesla Gigafactory.

The state is also looking to include a research & development center on the site of the Gigafactory. Bengaluru is also home to Toyota, another globally-popular automaker.

BREAKING: Tesla in talks with Karnataka government for a Giga factory in India$TSLA's worldwide expansion is just now beginning! Every country needs to transition to sustainable transportation, renewable energy generation and battery storage. This century belongs to @elonmusk

— Jake Browatzke 🚀 (@jakebrowatzke) October 5, 2020

Despite the excitement surrounding Tesla’s move into India, not everyone thinks it’s a good idea.

Aman Madhok, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research said, “Tesla coming to India would not have such a major impact on the market, because first of all it’s a very premium segment, maybe around Rs 40 lakh or so even for the Model 3. Range anxiety in the mind of car owners could be an issue for Tesla, despite the Model 3 offering over 500 km on a single charge.”

“There’s no current infrastructure, there’s no government support, and I don’t think Tesla will invest so much in infrastructure because there are no economies of scale here,” added Madhok.

Still, those who have not decided Tesla’s worth based on climate change and the need to move to sustainable transportation may want to rethink their stances a little bit, as it’s a change the world both wants and needs – and India is no exception.