BENGALURU (Reuters) – Billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. will set up an electric car manufacturing unit in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, according to a government document released by Reuters on Saturday.
“The US firm Tesla is going to open an electric car manufacturing unit in Karnataka,” the state government said in a brief statement.
The statement was part of a broader document outlining India’s budget highlights to the people in the local language of Kannada.
Last month, electric car maker Tesla Motors India and Energy Private Limited merged with its registered office in the city of Bengaluru in Karnataka, a hub for global technology companies.
Prime Minister BS Yediyurappa then said in a tweet, which was subsequently deleted, that Tesla would start its operations in India with an R&D unit in Bengaluru.
It was not immediately clear whether the Saturday statement referred to the same unit.
Tesla and the office of the head of state in Karnataka did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Musk has tweeted several times about the looming invasion of India. In December, the Tesla CEO confirmed in an exchange on Twitter that Tesla would launch in the country in 2021.
India was keen to reduce its oil dependence and reduce pollution, but its efforts to promote electric vehicles were stimulated by the lack of investment in manufacturing and infrastructure such as charging stations.
To boost investment, India plans to encourage $ 4.6 billion for companies that build advanced battery manufacturing facilities, Reuters reported last year.
Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla and Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru; Edited by Gareth Jones and Steve Orlofsky