NEW DELHI: US electric carmaker Tesla will now harness its existing facilities to ramp up production rather than investing in a new manufacturing unit.
This decision by Tesla may put its India plans on hold where the carmaker till last week was expected to announce a multi-billion dollar investment to make affordable electric cars in the country.
“We’ve updated our future vehicle lineup to accelerate the launch of new models ahead, previously mentioned start of production in the second half of 2025. So, we expect it to be more like the early 2025, if not late this year. These new vehicles, including more affordable models, will use aspects of the next-generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms, and we’ll be able to produce on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle lineup,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday in a post earning call.
“So, it’s not contingent upon any new factory or massive new production line, it will be made on our current production lines much more efficiently. And we think this should allow us to get to over 3 million vehicles of capacity when realized to the full extent,” he added.
Lars Moravy, head of Tesla’s engineering, further said new manufacturing processes and production lines come with “some risks,” and the automaker made a “major shift” to utilise its facilities to build low-cost vehicles in a fast and efficient manner for now. Investors welcomed this cautious approach of Tesla as shares of the company surged 12% during after-hours trading, despite the company’s quarterly results falling short of estimates.
If Tesla decides to postpone its India plan, it will be a big setback for the current government which brought in a major change in its EV policy and lowered taxes on imported cars to attract global automakers. Following this, Musk announced that he would be visiting India and meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This fuelled rumours that Musk would announce entering into the Indian market, giving a big boost to PM Modi who is contesting for a third term in the ongoing general elections.
Company’s shares surge 12%
Lars Moravy, head of Tesla’s engineering, further said new manufacturing processes and production lines come with “some risks,” and the automaker made a “major shift” to utilise its facilities to build low-cost vehicles in a fast and efficient manner for now. Investors welcomed this cautious approach of Tesla as shares of the company increased 12 per cent during after-hours trading
A setback for current government
If Tesla decides to postpone plan in the country, it will be a big setback for the current government which brought in a major change in its electric vehicle (EV) policy and lowered taxes on imported cars to attract global automakers. Following this development, Elon Musk announced that the Tesla chief would be visiting India and meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi