Ministers of non-BJP ruled West Bengal, Telangana, Maharashtra, and TamilNadu invited Elon Musk. They have shown interest in inviting Tesla CEO Elon Musk to set up shop in their states. The Tesla CEO tweeted that they are trying to work through some issues with the Centre. So, the Ministers are extending support to Tesla CEO.
Telangana Minister of Industry, KT Rama Rao, Maharashtra Minister Jayant Patil, West Bengal minister Md Ghulam Rabbani, Sidhu, and TamilNadu industry minister Thangam Thenarasu tagged Elon Musk on twitter. They tweeted and assured him of all necessary help they can provide.
Industries Minister Thangam Thenarasu tweeted by tagging Elon Musk. He mentioned that TamilNadu has a 34% share in total planned investments for EVs.
“Hi Mr. Elon @elonmusk
I’m from Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu accounts for 34% share in total planned investments for Electric Vehicles. Welcome to India’s EV capital. Also Tamil Nadu is one of the top nine renewable energy markets in the world. #tnforpartnership”
On Sunday, Punjab Minister Sidhu tweeted tagging Elon and invited him to set up the shops.
“I invite @elonmusk, Punjab Model will create Ludhiana as hub for Electric Vehicles & Battery industry with time-bound single-window clearance for investment that brings new technology to Punjab, create green jobs, walking path of environment preservation & sustainable development,” tweeted Sidhu.
On the same day, Maharashtra Minister Jayant Patil made a similar approach to Elon Musk for his state.
“Maharashtra is one of the most progressive states in India. We will provide you all the necessary help from Maharashtra for you to get established in India. We invite you to establish your manufacturing plant in Maharashtra,” he tweeted.
It was on Friday when Telangana minister Rama Rao had tweeted. He stated that his state will be happy to tie up with Tesla.
“Hey Elon, I am the Industry & Commerce Minister of Telangana state in India Will be happy to partner Tesla in working through the challenges to set up shop in India/Telangana. Our state is a champion in sustainability initiatives & a top notch business destination in India,” he said.
The Bengal Minister for minority development and madrasa education, Md Ghulam Rabbani, invited Tesla to his state. However this drew a sharp reaction from the BJP. This reminded the TMC minister that his party was the one that drove out Tata’s car project 14 years ago.
“Drop here, we in West Bengal have the best infrastructure & our leader @MamataOfficial has got the vision. Bengal means Business,” Rabbani tweeted.
Tatas had set its sights in Singur for a small car factory. But the Tatas were actually forced to pull out of Bengal in 2008. This followed a huge agitation led by the TMC. This agitation was over forcible land acquisition for the project.
BJP’s IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya mocked Rabbani. He sought to remind Rabbani about the past records of the state. “You might think it is a joke. But it isn’t! West Bengal’s minister in charge for Minority Affairs and Madrasa Education has made an offer to Elon Musk to come invest in WB. His pitch will start with Mamata Banerjee’s record on post-poll violence and end with Singur agitation?” Malviya posted on Twitter.
Elon Musk responded to a tweet on the company’s plans to launch its products in India. Musk tweeted on January 13, “Still working through a lot of challenges with the government.”
Tesla faced a reduction in the import duties on electric vehicles (EVs) in India last year. The heavy industries ministry had put forth a request to the electric car major. They have asked Tesla to first start manufacturing iconic electric vehicles in India. They asked Tesla to do this before any tax concessions were to be considered.
The central government mentioned that they didn’t give concessions to any auto firm. So, giving duty benefits to Tesla will result in a bad signal to other companies. This will then prove unfair for the companies, investing billions of dollars in India.
