India’s hope of electric vehicle (EV) major Tesla moving forward with its proposed investment plan in the country seems to be running out as executives at Elon Musk’s company reportedly stopped contacting authorities in Delhi.
Musk’s team hasn’t made any further inquiries with officials in New Delhi after the billionaire postponed a visit to India in late April, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.
The Indian government is given to understand that Tesla has capital issues and doesn’t plan on pledging fresh investment into India in the near future, the report said.
The loss of interest in India comes as Tesla reported a second consecutive drop in quarterly deliveries globally and faces heightened competition in China.
Musk announced major staff reductions in April, the EV maker’s first new model in years, the Cybertruck, has been slow to ramp up while construction of a new plant in Mexico has been delayed.
Bloomberg said representatives from India’s Ministry of Heavy Industries, which oversees the automobile sector, and the ministries of finance, and commerce and industry, did not respond to its requests for comment.
Tesla also did not respond to a request for comment.
Musk in April scrapped a planned visit to India that would have included a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing pressing issues at the company.
India now seems to be pinning its hopes on domestic automakers like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra to boost EV production.
Should Musk decide to re-engage, Tesla would still be welcome to avail itself of the new import tax policy, the Bloomberg report said, citing its sources.
India’s EV market is in its infancy, with battery-powered cars accounting for just 1.3 percent of the total last year, according to Bloomberg NEF.
Many buyers are hesitant to make the switch due to electric cars’ high upfront cost and a dearth of charging stations.
