Exclusive: Tesla To Launch CBU Model 3 In India After Committing Gigafactory For The Market

Tesla has backtracked and buckled to the demands of the Indian government with it giving a commitment to launch a Gigafactory for the Indian market that will serve the subcontinent. As a part of this deal, come 2023, Tesla will be launching the Model 3 as a completely built unit in India and reportedly, the government has granted it some tax subsidies. The longer-term plan is to not only manufacture the Model and Model Y in India but also use the facility as a hub for a potential next-generation vehicle that could be solely geared toward emerging markets like India and South East Asia and Africa. 

The Model 3 will also launch with a suspension overhaul which raises the ride height of the vehicle to accommodate the road conditions in India. For charging, initially, Tesla will be partnering with Tata Power for charging stations but from a longer-term perspective, it has ambitions towards its own supercharger network which gives its vehicles a vertically integrated edge over the competition. 

The Model 3 is the world's best selling executive sedan despite being an EV
Photo Credit: www.tesla.com

While Tesla formed its Indian entity in 2021, for the longest time it was in a logjam with the government over import duties. The government didn't buckle under pressure and Elon Musk also tweeted numerous times criticising Indian import laws regarding electric vehicles. But it seems like Tesla came up with a viable solution for a Gigafactory in India which will be in the state of Karnataka - as now it plans on using it as an export hub for the South East Asian market and Africa where it hasn't yet launched. 

The anti-China sentiment and the global semiconductor shortage have been one of the key drivers for this decision as India also starts getting more and more attuned to electric cars. Interestingly, one of the key aspects to this is the fact the CBU Model 3 will be imported from the new Berlin Gigafactory, not the one in Shanghai. Tesla is also betting that the war in Ukraine will drive oil prices up faster which will accelerate electric car adoption in emerging markets. 

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