[landcruiser123]

Why would Tesla even bother manufacturing in a country where the people can't use their products? Electricity generation is a problem.
To make an impact in India, Tesla needs to make products that Indians require. The 4 m hatchback and the 4.4 m sedan will be a good segment to start. These cars are the sub-compacts in the USA.

I think Tesla might manufacture in Malaysia or Thailand.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Why would Tesla even bother manufacturing in a country where the people can't use their products? Electricity generation is a problem.
To make an impact in India, Tesla needs to make products that Indians require. The 4 m hatchback and the 4.4 m sedan will be a good segment to start. These cars are the sub-compacts in the USA.

I think Tesla might manufacture in Malaysia or Thailand.

I think power is ceasing to be an issue. You will get the few hours you need to recharge.

Forget designing cars for the Indian market at the outset. Yes, I agree that Thailand or Malaysia may be better bets, but if we throw in the power packs for solar plants the dynamics can change.

Also, how does the FTA with Thailand impact car imports, or will it be a SKD Kit Assembly and not a CBU!

[aLY]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I think power is ceasing to be an issue. You will get the few hours you need to recharge.

Does the power is an issue any more in India?
I have come across this news in ET two weeks back, and the news says "India has become a power surplus country, for the first time in history". We will have 3.1% surplus power during peak hours and 1.1% during the non peak hours.

[sgiitk]

@aLY; It is not excess power everywhere. In Kanpur (the biggest and most revenue paying city in UP) three to five hours of cuts daily are still the norm. UP is so bust that it cannot afford to pay for the power.

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@aLY; It is not excess power everywhere. In Kanpur (the biggest and most revenue paying city in UP) three to five hours of cuts daily are still the norm. UP is so bust that it cannot afford to pay for the power.

Power is indeed excess but as rightly pointed, the discoms are bankrupt and have no money to purchase electricity.

Thinking about this, likes of Tesla can directly enter into Power Purchase Agreements with power plants and setup the charging infrastructure. Power plants are dying to get PPAs and am sure would be more than happy.

Could even be that while there is blackout in cities, charging outlets are all online and people can actually then use cars to power their homes!

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

Thinking about this, likes of Tesla can directly enter into Power Purchase Agreements with power plants and setup the charging infrastructure. Power plants are dying to get PPAs and am sure would be more than happy.

I do not think Tesla will be needing more than one or two charging points at any service stop. So a PPP is really not on. That requires bulk purchase at one location.

[norhog]

Instead of running behind Tesla, why not help promote Mahindra's reva, or the scores of e bike & rickshaw ( which incidently have mushroomed all over Indian "B" and "C" grade towns)
Some innovative way to help these companies considering that they seem like the future of automotive tech.

[ais]

I hope Tesla takes earnest money from the government to immunise themselves from policy changes or Tata/Singur type fiasco's.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by norhog

Instead of running behind Tesla, why not help promote Mahindra's reva, or the scores of e bike & rickshaw ( which incidently have mushroomed all over Indian "B" and "C" grade towns)
Some innovative way to help these companies considering that they seem like the future of automotive tech.

Reva is more of a statement that a serious car. Range is under 80km. With Tesla I am looking at Kanpur - Delhi/Gurugram with one stop for charging both the car and the driver.

As for e-rickshaws come to Kanpur and you will learn fast. Umpteen number of them have been released on the roads. The drivers have zero skills or road sense, they are underpowered so cannot keep up with the traffic, and often overloaded and moving along at a maximum of 10kph. Also, if the local press is to be believed then almost all of them charge at night using a 'katia' to steal power.

[aLY]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@aLY; It is not excess power everywhere. In Kanpur (the biggest and most revenue paying city in UP) three to five hours of cuts daily are still the norm. UP is so bust that it cannot afford to pay for the power.

I do agree with you, sir. There are still places in India where power cut is an issue. But if you analyze the entire country's power scenario, India as whole, now we are at a power surplus stage or that is what the Power Mistry claims.



I have collected this data from Ministry of Power's web portal. As you can see, the gap between Requirement and Generation is reducing year by year. In 2010 the percentage of difference was 10.1% but as of May 2016 it is only 0.98%. Thanks to the new Renewable Energy plants and to the higher efficient solar technologies.

I think the issue of power cut is not because of we are power deficit. The issues may be with regional DISCOMs or with the interconnection of grids (between different power plants) or may be political issues between the states.

[volkman10]

Will Tesla have a footprint in India? Guess we need to wait till 2018.

Roads minister Nitin Gadkari says this could well be a possibility but added that the Elon Musk-led electric car maker will only decide on the matter after the launch of the Model 3 next year.

Source

[amitg79]

Tesla seems to be thinking of setting up a Gigafactory in India, as per ACI news:

http://www.autocarindia.com/auto-new...ia-402652.aspx

[volkman10]

Maharahstra, Telangana & Andhra Pradesh vying for Tesla Motors manufacturing facilties

But is TESLA really Interested in setting up Operations in India?

Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao and Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis have sent representatives to Tesla Motors founder Elon Musk in an attempt to convince him about the advantages of setting up manufacturing facilities in their respective states

The three states are understood to be vying to house Tesla Motors’ Gigafactory, touted to be one of the largest plants in the world for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries that power the company’s electric cars

In fact, in June this year, Union road transport and highways and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari too had visited Tesla Motors' San Francisco factory and invited the company to set up facilities in India through a joint venture with Indian auto players

Link

[sgiitk]

@volkman10; I think they are. It is first time that states are actively competing. Remember Tesla as a policy sets up its own dealer network and service network (no franchisees). I can understand this since their technology is totally different. They will also have to set up a fueling (ie charging) network, at least on highways. Let us see how they cope. I think GST with some sops will be necessary.

[Raul258]

The current US laws restrict tech transfer and production in India and hence Tesla cars will be costly here. The lack of charging options also limit the practicality of the vehicle here. If we think buying the vehicle would reduce our carbon footprint then again we are wrong as most of our electricity comes from thermal energy.. in short the car is far ahead of our time..