Tesla loses head of India just as it is rumored to finally enter the market

Tesla (TSLA) has lost its head of the Indian market just as the automaker is rumored to finally enter India after several false starts.

Tesla has been trying to enter the Indian automotive market for years, but it has been unable to circumvent the country’s protectionist efforts, which include high import duties on foreign vehicles.

The Indian government wanted Tesla to build a factory in the country, but the automaker preferred to first establish a market in the country through imported vehicles before investing in a manufacturing facility in the country.

Last year, we reported that India finally reached a compromise on its import duties on cars, opening the door for Tesla and other EV automakers to launch in the country.

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The deal involves significantly reducing import duties for a limited number of electric vehicles as long as the automaker makes a significant investment and commitment to build an electric vehicle factory in India in the coming years.

It looked like Tesla had a hand in making that deal happen, considering the automaker was working closely with the government, and there were indications that Tesla would take them up on the deal.

However, it has been more than a year since India announced the program, and Tesla has yet to take them up on it.

Tesla did make moves toward entering the Indian market. It started hiring service and sales staff earlier this year and considered locations in New Delhi and Mumbai.

The automaker also tested some of its electric vehicles in India, but that also happened years ago, when Tesla was first supposed to enter the Indian market, and it didn’t happen.

We have been burned before. We will believe Tesla’s entry into the Indian market when it finally happens.

If it is happening, it’s not off to a good start as Tesla has reportedly lost its head of country in India, Prashanth Menon, just ahead of the supposed market launch.

Menon had been at Tesla since 2016. He held roles in business planning until 2021, when he was made head of Tesla in India.

Bloomberg now reports that Menon left and that Tesla’s Chinese team has been put in charge of the Indian market.

Electrek’s Take

At this point, I’m in the “I’ll believe it when I see it” phase of Tesla’s Indian market entry. It seemed to be on the verge of happening 2-3 times and never happened.

To be fair, it does look like this time is closer than ever, but then Tesla loses its country head, and it’s not like the timing for entering the Indian market looks great with the country seemingly being on the verge of a new war with Pakistan.

We will keep an eye on it.