Continue to build factories? Report: Tesla will scout for a $2-3 billion electric car factory site in India

To cope with intensified competition, Tesla has decided to enter the Indian market?

On Wednesday, April 3, media reports cited sources familiar with the matter as saying that against the backdrop of slowing demand in the electric vehicle market and intensified competition in the automotive industry, Tesla's first-quarter deliveries not only declined but also fell below market expectations. In order to reverse this situation, Tesla plans to dispatch a team from the United States to India by the end of April to explore potential sites for a new electric vehicle factory with an expected investment of $2 billion to $3 billion.

It is reported that Tesla will focus on the automotive manufacturing hubs in India, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu.

Currently, electric vehicles in India are mainly dominated by Tata Motors, and the market size is relatively small, still in the growth stage. Data shows that by 2023, electric vehicles are expected to account for about 2% of total car sales in India, while the Indian government aims to increase this proportion to 30% by 2030.

Therefore, the Indian government has decided to intensify its policy efforts to attract international automakers to make large-scale investments and production to promote the development of the domestic electric vehicle industry. Last month, the Indian government announced that it would reduce import duties for car manufacturers who commit to investing over $500 million in India and building factories locally within three years. This move is seen as indirect support for Tesla and other international companies entering the Indian market.

The benefits of Tesla entering the Indian market are self-evident. Analysts believe that Tesla's entry into the Indian market may stimulate more investments in Indian electric vehicles and benefit local automotive component manufacturers. This is also conducive to India achieving its long-term goal of popularizing electric vehicles and bringing new growth points to the local economy.

Reports indicate that not only the government, but Tesla has also long sought to enter the vast and rapidly growing Indian market. Specifically, Tesla has been in negotiations with Indian government officials for a year, and in June last year, Musk met with Indian Prime Minister Modi. In July last year, Tesla expressed interest in establishing a factory in India to produce electric cars priced at $24,000 and requested the Indian government to lower the tax rates for selling more expensive models in India.

Furthermore, Tesla needs to build a factory to "redeem itself." On April 2, Tesla released disappointing delivery data. Tesla's deliveries fell by 8.5% year-on-year to about 386,800 vehicles, a decrease of over 20% from the previous month, far below analysts' expectations of 449,000 vehicles, setting a record for the largest expectation gap in history. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives described this result as an "unexplainable disaster." Following the release of the data, Tesla's stock price fell by 4.9% on the same day