New developments at Tesla's India plant。

On November 13, local time, Indian government officials said that India is considering Tesla's request to reduce tariffs on imported electric vehicles.。

According to people familiar with the matter, Tesla has asked the Indian authorities to give tariff concessions and reduce the tax rate to 15% at all prices.。For Tesla's request, the Indian government is also considering。

One official said: "They (Tesla) have always believed that at least some tariff concessions are needed during the transition period.。He added: "Including will contain some kind of sunset clause (sunset clause).。"

Laws that set up a "sunset clause" are also known as time-limited laws, which refer to the period during which the legislator foresaw the effective implementation of the law at the beginning of the legislation, and expire as soon as the time limit is reached.。

However, there is no agreement on this policy within the Indian government.。One official said: "We want to create a package that is good for India, not become a company's carefully planned package.。"

Tesla's plans to build a factory in India have been rumored for months。Tesla executives have met with Indian government officials at least three times in the past year.。In June, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Musk in New York on the sidelines of a state visit to the United States and wanted him to consider India as Tesla's next superplant construction site.。

During these meetings, tariffs have been an unavoidable issue and a focus of discussion between the two。

All along, the Indian authorities have set high tariff conditions on the auto industry in order to protect local companies.。At this stage, the Indian authorities impose a 70% tariff on cars worth less than $40,000 and a high 100% tariff on cars worth $40,000 and above.。

Such high tariffs are like a basin of cold water, dousing the ambitious ambitions of many car companies to enter India, including Tesla。

As early as 2021, Tesla tried to enter the Indian market, when the company worked to push the Indian government to reduce the import tax on electric vehicles by 100%, but accidentally hit a wall。Talks between Tesla and the Indian government broke down again last year when Indian officials demanded that Tesla must commit to building a local plant to produce electric cars.。

The setback in these talks once led to a decline in Tesla's enthusiasm for entering India, but this year, things have taken a turn for the better。Tesla and Indian authorities start talks again。

It is reported that Tesla said in the negotiations to build a factory in India that it will produce the new electric car priced at 2 million rupees (about 24,000 US dollars) locally, and may use India as a production center to export the car to other regions。If this is the case, it will bring huge opportunities for the Indian car manufacturing industry.。

However, Tesla took into account the construction of the factory in India, so that local automakers are a little "sitting hard," because their technology and production capacity are far from Tesla.。This is also an important reason why the Indian government did not agree to Tesla's request in one breath.。A source said: "Although the Indian government is very keen to win Tesla, the matter still needs to go through a lot of deliberation because it may impact domestic companies.。"

Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will travel to San Francisco next week to attend a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC).。An Indian official said Goyal may meet Musk there, at which point the two sides may have further discussions.。

For Tesla, betting on India is a bold but risky move。India's electric car market is still in its early stages。India overtook Japan as the world's third-largest car market earlier this year, but the country's domestic electric vehicles currently account for less than 2% of total car sales.。This is India's strengths and weaknesses, after all, the construction of factories also have to consider the auto parts supply chain and other issues。

However, as Tesla faces increasing competition in the industry, Tesla must move into a broader market in order to retain its position as the leader, which is the company's intrinsic motivation to actively negotiate with the Indian government.。

In addition to India, Tesla is also preparing to enter South America by exploring the market in Chile.。

On September 28, Tesla's Chilean subsidiary registered and published information in the Official Gazette, disclosing that its operations include "the import, export, manufacture, marketing, distribution and sale of automobiles, especially electric vehicles," as well as other commercial activities, such as the production and supply of energy and electricity.。

Although the registered headquarters of Tesla's Chilean subsidiary is in Santiago, the registration information shows that the company can choose to "establish branches or agencies in other cities (in Chile) or abroad."。

In addition, according to a post on LinkedIn, Tesla is also hiring in Chile for positions such as general manager, sales consultant and service technician.。