New Delhi: Representatives from Elon Musk-Tesla are reportedly expected to meet Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal as early as this month to chalk out a facility to build a Rs 20 lakh electric car, as China fumes at New Delhi rejecting BYD Group’s bid to build a $1 billion facility.
According to a Reuters report, citing sources, the meeting with Goyal will be the highest-level one since Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US last month and said he plans to bring Tesla to India as soon as humanly possible.
Tesla was yet to comment on the report. US electric car producer Tesla has proposed setting up a factory in India to build electric cars for domestic sale and export.
Meanwhile, as the government gears up to welcome Musk’s Tesla, the Centre has reportedly rejected Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD Motors’ plan to set up a $1 billion four-wheeler manufacturing facility in the country.
According to Chinese state-run Global Times, if India treats Tesla and BYD differently, “won’t it be utter discrimination against China?”
In an opinion piece, the newspaper said that it is hoped that “India will not be politically biased against Chinese investment, refrain from setting invisible entry barriers for Chinese manufacturers under the disguise of protecting economic security”.
