Tesla Begins Hiring in India After Meeting With PM Narendra Modi.

Tesla Starts Hiring in India Following Talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Written by: Supriya Kadu

Edited by: Pinky Deshmukh

Last Updated: February 18, 2025

Summary: Tesla has started job openings in India after Elon Musk and PM Modi met in the US.

According to a LinkedIn job posting, Tesla Inc. has begun hiring in India, a clear indication that the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer is getting ready to join the market. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his recent trip to the United States.

Tesla posted 113 job openings including both back-end and customer-facing positions. On Monday, the corporation posted the job openings on its LinkedIn profile.

Tesla is seeking applicants for several jobs in Delhi and Mumbai, including advisory and service technician positions. Other positions, like delivery operations specialist and client engagement manager, are reserved for Mumbai residents.

Tesla had previously expressed interest in joining the Indian market, but the business was unable to proceed due to high import taxes. The country is now a more appealing market for luxury EV manufacturers as the government recently lowered the basic customs tariff on expensive cars over $40,000 from 110% to 70%.

Although India's EV market is still in its infancy when compared to China's, it offers Tesla a chance to grow into new areas. Global sales have been slowing down for the corporation, and it recently revealed its first yearly decline in EV sales in more than ten years.

Although India sold about 100,000 EVs last year, this figure pales in comparison to China, which sold 11 million EVs within the same time frame. However, Tesla sees a market opportunity as the Indian government promotes cleaner energy sources and provides incentives for the use of EVs.

Shortly after PM Modi met with Musk and former US President Donald Trump in Washington last week, Tesla decided to enter India. After the meeting, Trump claimed that PM Modi had committed to starting trade talks to close the trade gap between the US and India and increase US military sales, including talks about sending F-35 fighter fighters to India.

Although there is currently no official confirmation regarding when Tesla will begin selling cars in India, the company's hiring activities indicate that it is establishing operations there. Depending on demand and regulatory backing, analysts predict that Tesla will first concentrate on importing its vehicles before thinking about establishing a local manufacturing facility.