Tesla Inc chief executive Elon Musk indicated on Friday that the US electric carmaker will make a foray into India in 2021.

“Next year for sure,” Musk said on Twitter in reply to a post with a photograph of a T-shirt with the message: “India wants Tesla”.

“Thanks for waiting,” Musk said.

Tesla’s entry could come at a time Prime Minister Narendra Modi is increasingly becoming focussed on promoting the use and manufacture of electric vehicles.
India’s auto sector, already reeling from a slowdown in demand last year, has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic and carmakers are seeking government support to push sales.

Musk commented last year about coming to India, in response to someone on Twitter who asked, “What about India sir?”

“Would love to be there this year. If not, definitely next!” he said in March 2019.

Tesla Inc on Friday said it delivered 1,39,300 vehicles in the third quarter, a quarterly record for the electric carmaker. The company slightly beat consensus estimates by Refinitiv for deliveries of 1,34,720 vehicles, but fell short of some of Wall Street’s most bullish forecasts, with analysts issuing a wide range of estimates.

Tesla delivered 1,24,100 Model Y and Model 3 units, slightly below Refinitiv consensus expectations of 1,28,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles combined.

Some analysts had expected weaker US demand for the mass-market Model 3 because of the release of the Model Y.

MG Motor

Carmaker MG Motor India has initiated the expansion for the electric SUV — MG ZS — in 10 cities, including Coimbatore. The move comes after the company recently completed the rollout of the 1,000th unit of the ZS EV in the country since deliveries began in February last.

The company will commence pre-bookings from Friday at a price of Rs 50,000 at dealerships across the cities and on the MG Motor India website (mgmotor.co.in) with a price of Rs 20.89 lakh.

The latest expansion will make MG ZS EV available in 21 cities across the country and MG will simultaneously develop the EV eco-system across the cities by deploying superfast charging infrastructure and extending on-road charging facilities, a press release from the company said here.