“It’ll be too late for Tesla,” Says OLA CEO Amid Tesla’s India Pull Out Speculation
India’s EV market gains momentum as Tesla hesitates, local players to seize the lead.
"It’ll be too late for Tesla when they look at India seriously again in a few years," said Bhavish Aggarwal OLA CEO following news reports of Tesla pulling out from the Indian market. According to Bloomberg, India does not expect Tesla to move forward with any investment in the country soon, as executives at Elon Musk’s electric carmaker have ceased communication with Indian officials.
Responding to this development, Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal tweeted, "If true, this is Tesla’s loss, not India’s. While the Indian EV and Lithium ecosystem is early, we’re gaining momentum quickly. It’ll be too late for Tesla when they look at India seriously again in a few years."
In late April, Tesla CEO Elon Musk postponed his visit to India to meet with Prime Minister Modi. Following this, Tesla paused its investment plans in India, with Musk's team avoiding further communication with Indian authorities, according to a Bloomberg report. The report also highlighted that the Indian government is aware of Tesla's financial challenges, noting that the US EV maker has no current plans to inject new funds into India.
In April, Tesla announced job cuts, sold its flagship Cybertruck stall, and delayed construction of its Mexico plant. The company is also facing increasing competition from Chinese automakers and reported a second consecutive drop in global deliveries this quarter.
On the other hand, cumulative electric vehicle (EV) sales in India reached 4,135,077 units by the end of FY 2024. Annual EV sales surpassed 1.7 million vehicles in FY2024, with electric two-wheelers (E2W) comprising more than 55 per cent of the market share, followed by passenger electric three-wheelers (E3W P) at approximately 32 per cent.
