Fact check | Tesla scraps plan to build manufacturing unit in India? Here's the truth

The EV giant’s interest in manufacturing in India is currently on hold. Tesla launched a new experience centre in Bengaluru last week and released the Model Y L in the country in April.

Reports claiming that the Elon Musk-led Tesla has scrapped its plans to set up its electric vehicle manufacturing plants in India went viral on Wednesday.

Several international outlets also published stories, while social media users too spread the claim rapidly.

The claim is unverified, with neither Tesla nor the Ministry of Heavy Industries making any such announcement. In fact, Tesla launched a new experience centre in Bengaluru last week and released the Model Y L in the country in April.

The reports stated that Tesla had "officially" or "formally" decided to abandon its plans to build a manufacturing facility in India.

Reports insisted that the "confirmation" of the development came from the Minister of Heavy Industries, H D Kumaraswamy. Further, a viral post on social media by 'Teslarati', incorrectly called K N Balagopal, Minister for Finance of Kerala as the Minister of Heavy Industries, while spreading misinformation.

Kumaraswamy has not made any such statements recently. However, several outlets were using his quotes from last year.

The Minister of Heavy Industries talked about Tesla not wanting to produce cars in India last year after when US President Donald Trump’s tariffs were imposed, affecting trade, imports, and exports, in June 2025.

“Mercedes-Benz, Skoda-Volkswagen, Hyundai and Kia have shown interest [in manufacturing electric cars in India]. Tesla, we are not actually expecting [interest] from them. They have only [shown interest] to start two showrooms,” Kumaraswamy had said at the time.

Currently, Tesla has launched four stores in India in Gurugram, New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. It still remains to be seen what happens to Tesla’s much-talked about plans of setting up a manufacturing facility in India.

Musk had at the time said that India's tariffs on imported vehicles was too high to which Kumaraswamy had responded that the country would significantly lower taxes for foreign automakers looking to invest in domestic EV production lines.

The Minister then announced that companies could import a limited number of electric cars at a lowered duty of 15 per cent (down from the previous 70 per cent) if they invest around $500 million to build EVs and establish manufacturing facilities in India.

The EV giant’s interest in manufacturing in India is currently on hold. The plans were deferred in February 2025 after Trump said that it would be “unfair” for the United States if Tesla built a factory in India.

The call to make Tesla cars in India was made in 2022, to which the company had said it would import in the early stages to check the demand.