US President Donald Trump has said that it was impossible for Tesla CEO Elon Musk to sell his cars in India because of the high import tariffs and if he were to build a factory to manufacture vehicles in the country, that would be unfair to the US.
Alleging that India just about charged the highest tariffs in the world, Trump warned that the US would deal with this in a very fair way by charging the country as much tariffs as it was charging the US.
“…now, if he built the factory in India, that’s okay, but that’s unfair to us. It’s very unfair,” Trump said in a joint interview with Musk to Fox News.
Trump complained that every country in the world took advantage of the US, and they did it with tariffs. He cited India’s tariffs on automobiles as an example. “They make it impossible for him (Musk) to sell a car, practically, in, as an example, India,” he said.
High tariffs
Musk, who not only is the top producer of EVs but also heads the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), confirmed that India’s tariffs on automobiles were as high as 100 per cent. Trump said that he had told Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his meeting in Washington DC that he would charge India as much tariffs as India charged the US. He added that he was doing this with every country.
Trump’s criticism of the possibility of Musk building a Tesla plant in India follows Modi’s meeting with the billionaire in Washington DC during his two-day visit.
There have been reports on Musk’s renewed interests in India as Tesla recently put out advertisements seeking candidates for 13 positions across Mumbai and Delhi. These jobs include customer service, vehicle maintenance, sales, business operations, and marketing.
Trump’s team is expected to be ready with details on reciprocal tariffs in April while the US President also announced plans of imposing 25 per cent import duties on automobiles, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.
Anand Mahindra on Tesla’s entry
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra has said that he was confident of handling the competition if Elon Musk brought his Tesla to India.
“We have been asked similar questions ever since the opening up of the Indian economy in 1991. How will you compete against Tata, Maruti…all MNCs ? But we’re still around,” he said replying to a question on social media platform `X’ on Tesla’s possible entry into the Indian market.
He said that people in his company were working like maniacs to still be around and relevant even a century from now. “With you cheering us on, we will make that happen…,” he said.