Tesla India becomes more feasible as gov’t announces new EV import policy

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The Indian government has announced an updated policy for electric vehicles. The updated policy makes India friendlier to companies that wish to import EVs into the country. It also seems intended to incentivize domestic electric vehicle production and potentially lure high-profile EV makers like Tesla into the Indian market. 

India’s new EV policy offers significant privileges for companies willing to make a substantial investment in the country. Key requirements include a minimum investment of ₹4,150 crore (approximately $500 million) with no upper limit. Companies that opt to invest in India must also set up local manufacturing facilities and start domestic commercial EV production within three years.

Furthermore, the updated EV policy requires companies to reach a minimum Domestic Value Addition (DVA) of 25% within three years and 50% within a maximum of five years. DVA refers to the percentage of localized components that companies will be using to manufacture their electric vehicles in India.

Companies that are willing to meet these criteria would be allowed to import up to 8,000 electric vehicles per year at a reduced import duty of 15% if they invest $800 million or more into India. This benefit applies specifically to vehicles with a minimum CIF value of USD 35,000. This is a notable improvement from the country’s typical import taxes, which range from 70% to 100% depending on their value.

To ensure compliance with the policy’s objectives, companies must provide a bank guarantee in lieu of the custom duty forgone, as noted in an India Today report. This guarantee serves as a safety net and will be invoked if a company fails to meet the minimum investment or DVA targets.

It would not be surprising if India’s updated EV policy ends up attracting Tesla, though it remains to be seen if the EV maker would be willing to cap its imports into the country to just 8,000 units per year while it is building and ramping a production facility in the country. India’s requirements for Domestic Value Addition (DVA) would likely not be a problem for Tesla, however, considering the electric vehicle maker’s impressive localization efforts at Gigafactory Shanghai. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Tesla India becomes more feasible as gov’t announces new EV import policy





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Tesla finally leans into its vehicles’ American-made nature by flexing Cybertruck and Model Y

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There is no doubt that Teslas are the most American-made cars on the market today. Cars.com’s 2023 American-made Index proved this, with the Tesla Model Y being the year’s most American-made car and the Model 3, Model X, and Model S taking the list’s No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 spots. However, a significant portion of car buyers in the United States do not know this. In fact, the opposite is sometimes argued. 

This was something that automotive legend Jay Leno has brought up in the past. In his recent review of the upgraded Tesla Model 3 alone, Leno mentioned that it’s strange how people typically think that Tesla is not an American-made car. Highlighting this notion is Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump, who recently noted in a CNBC interview that EVs “don’t go far, they cost too much, and they’re all going to be made in China.” 

Tesla, for its part, has been spotted initiating a rather interesting advertising campaign to promote its vehicles’ American-made nature. As could be seen in photos that were shared by Tesla North America’s official account on X, the electric vehicle maker has placed a Model Y in a glass container with the words “The best-selling car in the world is made in America.” Interestingly enough, the Model Y in the glass container is being towed by the Cybertruck.

Tesla’s promotion of the Model Y’s sales milestone last year is quite unsurprising. Such a feat, after all, has been widely considered impossible by Tesla critics. Yet as per JATO Dynamics, the Tesla Model Y became the world’s best-selling vehicle with 1.23 million units sold. The Toyota Rav4 came second with 1.07 million units sold, and the Toyota Corolla came in third with 1.01 million units sold. 

The combination of the Model Y and the Cybertruck is quite interesting. While the Model Y has already been dubbed by Cars.com as the most American-made vehicle in 2023, Tesla employees have estimated that the Cybertruck will likely earn similar accolades. As per Lead Cybertruck Engineer Wes Morrill on X, 90% of the all-electric pickup truck’s parts are sourced from North America. And considering that the Cybertruck is produced in Giga Texas, it has the potential to rank as high as the Model Y in Cars.com’s American-made index.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Tesla finally leans into its vehicles’ American-made nature by flexing Cybertruck and Model Y





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Tesla now S&P 500’s worst performing stock YTD, Musk becomes world’s third-richest

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Tesla stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) has seen some pressure this 2024, with the electric vehicle maker seeing a 4.54% drop on Wednesday. With this, TSLA has become the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 index this 2024 so far. It has also resulted in CEO Elon Musk, whose net worth is closely tied to Tesla stock, becoming the world’s third-richest person by net worth.

As noted in a Barron’s report, Tesla stock has been down about 31% year-to-date. In comparison, the S&P 500 is up 8% year-to-date. Tesla’s 4.5% slide on Wednesday resulted in Elon Musk’s net worth being cut by $4.5 billion to $191.8 billion, as per Forbes‘ estimates. This means that Musk’s net worth has fallen below Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes to be $194.8 billion. 

Credit: Forbes

Tesla’s recent drop also increased the gap between Musk and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, whose net worth is estimated at $241.4 billion as of Wednesday’s close. Arnault is currently listed by Forbes as the world’s richest person by net worth. 

While sentiments surrounding TSLA stock seem quite negative for now, the electric vehicle maker has received a vote of confidence from one of its supporters on Wall Street. Wedbush, for one, maintained Tesla’s “Outperform” rating and optimistic $315 price target. As per analyst Dan Ives, “Now is not the time to throw in the towel on Tesla…despite the dark black clouds forming.” Ives also noted that “we have been here before with Musk/Tesla.” 

It should be noted that while Tesla has lagged behind the S&P 500 in the last six-month, one-year, two-year and three-year periods, its long-term performance paints a different picture. Over the past five years, Tesla’s stock has soared by nearly 800%, rewarding those who bought in early. Early investors who held onto their shares since the company’s IPO in 2010 have seen even more impressive returns.

Disclosure: I am long TSLA.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Tesla now S&P 500’s worst performing stock YTD, Musk becomes world’s third-richest





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