Elon Musk confirms Tesla's India plans in two-word tweet

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed his plans for establishing Tesla centres in five states across the country. He did so in a two-word tweet put out by him on Wednesday. "As promised," Musk wrote on Twitter. The world's richest man was replying to a tweet linking to a blog post on the Tesla fan site Tesmanian which noted that Tesla cars will be expensive for Indians but the cars will become more affordable for the country's middle class when the company starts production within the country.

As promised

- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 13, 2021

This is the first statement about Tesla's plans for India that Musk has made since the company registered its office in Bengaluru. On January 8,  Tesla registered itself as a company named Tesla India Motors and Energy in Bengaluru.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa confirmed in a tweet that Tesla has set up an R&D unit in Bengaluru. "Karnataka will lead India's journey towards Green Mobility. Electric Vehicle Manufacturer Tesla will soon start its operations in India with an R&D unit in Bengaluru. I welcome Elon Musk to India and Karnataka and wish him all the very best," he wrote.

The Tesla CEO has tweeted about his plans for the company in India several times before. Last October, he said in a tweet, "Next year for sure". He was replying to tweet which had a photograph of a person wearing a shirt with 'India wants Tesla' written on it.

According to the blog post on Tesmanian, Tesla is in talks with five states for opening stores, an office, a research and development centre and a manufacturing plant. The blog post also explains that Tesla will focus on the "wealthy segment" in India where there is massive economic disparity.

"Many people assume that if most of the country's population is poor, then there is no market for Tesla. However, they need to understand that the company is not aimed at selling cars to the entire population of India. In fact, out of 1.387 billion people, the producer is targeting a smaller (relative to the entire population), but a rather wealthy segment of the population," the blog post read.

It further added, "As sad as it may be, out of this population, about 1.3 billion people will not be able to afford a car like Tesla. However, there is still a market for the company of around 85 million people who can afford to buy a premium car."

The blog claims that India has a vast market for Tesla's development. Many of India's richest have been eagerly waiting for the company to make its debut for the past few years.

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