Tesla hiring in India for multiple roles immediately after PM Modi-Musk meeting. Setting up shop soon?

Tesla commenced hiring in India for multiple roles, almost immediately after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US and his meeting with the EV company's CEO Elon Musk. This move signals a possible nearing entry plans of the automaker. The electric car manufacturer posted advertisements for multiple roles on its LinkedIn page on Monday, which indicates that Tesla aims to strengthen its support team before starting official sales operations in the country.

The Tesla LinkedIn page shows the automaker has posted advertisements seeking candidates for 13 roles, including customer-facing and back-end jobs. The roles Tesla is seeking candidates for include Customer Support Specialist, Order Operations Specialist, Business Operations Analyst, Service Manager, Inside Sales Advisor, Store Manager, Delivery Operations Specialist, Parts Advisor, Service Advisor, Customer Support Supervisor, Service Technician etc. The spectrum of roles Tesla is hiring for shows how the automaker is aiming to strengthen its sales and aftersales operations team.

At least five of these positions, including Service Technician and various advisory roles, are available in both Delhi and Mumbai, while the rest of the openings, such as Customer Engagement Manager and Delivery Operations Specialist, are for Mumbai. This indicates Tesla is emphasising setting its shop in both Delhi and Mumbai when it enters the country officially.

Tesla and India: An on-and-off relationship

Tesla and India have engaged in an on-and-off relationship for years, but the EV maker has stayed away from the Indian passenger vehicle market, despite it being one of the most promising and fast-growing electric vehicle markets globally. Also, India is the third biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the world but seeking to decarbonize its economy. The Indian government has already stated that the country aims to become a net zero state by 2070.

One of the major concerns Tesla has repeatedly expressed about the Indian market is high import duties. Musk was scheduled to visit India in April last year and meet Prime Minister Modi, which sparked speculations about the US electric car maker’s investments in India which included setting up a manufacturing facility here. However, days later, the Tesla CEO postponed his visit to tend to press issues at the company that had slashed its workforce and recalled some of its vehicles in the US.

Interestingly, the Indian government in March last year slashed the import duty on electric vehicles for companies that set up local manufacturing factories with at least $500 million of investment. Again recently, the government reduced the basic customs duty (BCD) on high-end cars that are priced above $40,000 from 110 per cent to 70 per cent in the Union Budget 2025. This will benefit brands like Tesla that are likely to impoThe Indian government addressed the issue of high import duty which was dubbed as a major deterrent by Tesla CEO Musk previously. Prime Minister Modi's US visit and meeting with Musk took place almost immediately after that. Right after that, Tesla's job posts on its social page crt cars in India, at least initially, before starting manufacturing EVs locally.

The Indian government addressed the issue of high import duty which was dubbed as a major deterrent by Tesla CEO Musk previously. Prime Minister Modi's US visit and meeting with Musk took place almost immediately after that. Right after that, Tesla posted hiring advertisements on its social page. Connecting all these together, it seems the automaker may enter the Indian market soon.

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