Tesla’s key executive, who was leading the lobbying effort for the US electric carmaker in India, has resigned, quoting two sources Reuters has reported.
The executive with policy and business development of Tesla in India, Manuj Khurana, was hired in March 2021 and played a key role in forming a domestic market-entry plan for the US auto giant in the country.
Tesla has put on hold its plans to sell electric cars in the India.
According to the report, Khurana lobbied the Indian government for more than a year to slash the import tax on electric cars to 40 per cent from as high as 100 per cent, a move Tesla said would allow it to test the market with imports from its production hubs like China before investing in a factory.
However, the central government was in no mood to cut the import duty and insisted Tesla must first commit to manufacturing cars locally before it can offer any concessions. With talks deadlocked, Tesla has put its plans to sell cars in India on hold, reassigned some of the domestic team, and abandoned its search for showroom space.
Neither Khurana, the company’s first employee in India, nor Tesla responded to Reuter’s requests for comment. An email sent to Khurana generated an automated reply saying the address was no longer valid and future emails would not be received.
One of the sources said, “Tesla’s plans to launch in India right now are as good as dead.”
Elon Musk, chief executive officer (CEO) at Tesla, said on Twitter last month that the firm would not set up manufacturing in any location where it was not allowed first to sell and service cars.
The carmaker has also shifted its focus to other markets in Southeast Asia, like nickel-rich Indonesia, where it is looking at a potential battery-related investment, as well as Thailand, where it recently registered a local unit to sell cars.