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Tesla wants India’s government to consider lowering import taxes

(Credit: Tesla)

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Tesla is seeking lower import taxes on electric vehicles in India by writing to the country’s government ministries. The electric car company said it would boost demand and generate revenue for the government.

Tesla has been working for several years to enter India for electric vehicle sales. Producing vehicles domestically within India’s borders is most ideal for companies and customers as import duties can double the cost of a vehicle. However, Tesla has finally started making some moves toward building and producing electric cars at a new factory in India. Earlier this year, Tesla applied for and received two licenses to give the company permission to operate as a vehicle manufacturer.

This could take several years, and Tesla knows it. According to sources close to the situation, Tesla is now attempting to get in touch with Indian ministries to discuss a possible reduction of import duties on electric cars. Reuters initially published the report.

In a letter to Ministries and Niti Aayog, India’s leading think-tank, Tesla argues that slashing imports of fully assembled electric cars to 40% would be more appropriate than the current 60% rate for cars under $40,000 and 100% for those above $40,000. Tesla only has its Model 3 Standard Range+ variant under the $40,000 threshold. This would impose a 100% tax on all of its vehicles, except for this configuration.

“The argument is that at 40% import duty, electric cars can become more affordable, but the threshold is still high enough to compel companies to manufacture locally if demand picks up,” one source, who declined to be identified, said.

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The argument Tesla brings to the table is a good one: not only is India a prime candidate for electrification due to a large population and high pollution levels in the country that would favor sustainable energy, but it is a market that is thirsty for Tesla. The company has been requested in India for several years, and CEO Elon Musk has been attempting to enter the market. However, the ideas Tesla brings to the table could be turned away by politicians, like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has supported high import taxes to increase local manufacturing efforts.

Importing vehicles into the country would give Tesla a better idea of demand and whether it would be worth entering the market and building an India Gigafactory. However, the sources indicated that the company’s plan to begin sales is not dependent on a change in government policy.

Tesla could import vehicles from Gigafactory Shanghai in China to Indian customers if import taxes are lowered. However, this could be a difficult term to agree to as India’s Transport Minister, Nitin Gadkari, said that India would be willing to offer incentives to insure Tesla’s costs in the country is less than what it is in China. However, Tesla must manufacture its vehicles within the country.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with tips! Email us at tips@teslarati.com, or you can email me directly at joey@teslarati.com.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla launches new color from Gigafactory Berlin

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has launched a new color at Gigafactory Berlin in Germany, home of the company’s “world-class paint shop,” as Elon Musk once called it.

Bringing a new color to Tesla’s Model Y, there are now five available colors for those who will receive a vehicle from Gigafactory Berlin, with four of them being colors offered in other markets.

However, there is now one distinct color that is only available in Germany: Marine Blue.

Priced at €1,300, Marine Blue will cost the same as both Diamond Black and Stealth Grey, while Quicksilver and Ultra Red are available for double the price.

It is the third shade of blue Tesla offers across its lineup, as Deep Metallic Blue and Glacier Blue are also offered, but in other markets.

Tesla has routinely flexed Giga Berlin for having the most advanced paint shop throughout its factories, and it has produced some interesting colors over the past few years, some of which were truly awesome.

Tesla Giga Berlin is getting a world-class paint shop, new color ‘layers’ to come

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In 2020, Musk said, “Giga Berlin will have the world’s most advanced paint shop, with more layers of stunning colors that subtly change with curvature.”

He also detailed the company’s plans to upgrade the Fremont and Shanghai paint shops. Gigafactory Texas was not yet unveiled. Tesla has worked to improve those facilities, especially in Fremont.

It was able to roll out the new Diamond Black color earlier this year.

However, Giga Berlin seems to remain the standard in terms of paint for Tesla. It routinely offers new colors.

For example, back in 2022, Tesla rolled out its familiar Quicksilver color for the Model Y, while also introducing Midnight Cherry Red, a color close to burgundy. However, the company chose to discontinue the color after determining internally that customers no longer wanted to buy it.

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Midnight Cherry Red was removed as an option earlier this year, likely to make way for the development of the new Marine Blue.

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Tesla Autopilot visualization gets big upgrade with tons of new additions

The AP visualization shows up on the center touchscreen and illustrates the surroundings of the cars. It has gotten better in recent years, as it is able to outline types of vehicles, pedestrians, animals, and more.

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Credit: @greentheonly | X

Tesla’s Autopilot visualization just got a big upgrade as the company added tons of new additions to what it will be able to render in terms of a vehicle’s surroundings.

The AP visualization shows up on the center touchscreen and illustrates the surroundings of the cars. It has gotten better in recent years, as it is able to outline types of vehicles, pedestrians, animals, and more.

Tesla just fixed a four-year-old bug with Full Self-Driving visualization

However, it still does not have every single application, and acquiring them will take some time. If an object or vehicle is visible to the vehicle but an accurate render is not available, the car will instead pick whatever is closest.

For example, I passed an Amish family yesterday in Lancaster, PA, and instead of illustrating the horse and carriage, it simply showed a small box truck.

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In an effort to make the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving suites more robust and accurate, Tesla has added a substantial amount of vehicle renders, which will become available in the coming weeks.

The visualizations were found by Tesla hacker @greentheonly, who posted them on X.

The new visualization renders are:

  • Ambulance
  • Firetruck
  • Garbage Truck
  • Schoolbus
  • European Semi Truck
  • Golf Cart
  • Person on a Scooter
  • Person on a Skateboard
  • Stroller
  • Street Sweeper
  • Three-Wheeler
  • Trailer
  • Train
  • Tram
  • Person in a Wheelchair

Here is an image with all of the Autopilot visualization renders:

Credit: Green

The visualization is a crucial part of manual operation and can be considered a distinct advantage that Tesla has over other companies.

It continues to be an effort that Tesla invests heavily in, as it keeps refining the suite and making it more robust with additional visualizations and animations.

Recently, it was revealed that Tesla is planning to utilize Unreal Engine for driver visualization to create a realistic depiction of the vehicle’s environment. Tesla has not yet confirmed this, but coding found with the Model S and Model X showed it could be coming in the near future.

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Tesla dominates best-selling EVs in Q3, but there’s one disappointment

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla dominated the sales figures for electric vehicles in the third quarter in the United States, but there was one disappointment: the Cybertruck.

As a whole, the EV industry benefitted from the loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit in Q3, which was something many expected. As the credit expired, consumers rushed to showrooms to take the credit and remove $7,500 from the purchase price of their new vehicle.

Will Tesla thrive without the EV tax credit? Five reasons why they might

It was a very interesting time for many companies as they scrambled to figure out how to push as many vehicles out the door as they could in preparation for the tax credit’s removal. In typical fashion, Tesla was able to top every manufacturer and secure a dominating portion of the overall market in Q3.

However, some other OEMs pulled out some surprises, including Chevrolet, Honda, and Ford, which managed to get two vehicles in the top 10, as many as Tesla.

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Cox Automotive compiled the data in its Q3 Electric Vehicle Sales Report:

  1. Tesla Model Y – 114,897
  2. Tesla Model 3 – 53,857
  3. Chevrolet Equinox EV – 25,085
  4. Hyundai Ioniq 5 – 21,999
  5. Honda Prologue – 20,236
  6. Ford Mustang Mach-E – 20,177
  7. Volkswagen ID.4 – 12,470
  8. Audi Q6 e-tron – 10,299
  9. Ford F-150 Lightning – 10,005
  10. Rivian R1S – 8,184

10.5 percent of the automotive sales in the U.S. in Q3 were electric, a new record that surpasses that of Q3 2024, where the total share of sales for EVs was 8.6 percent.

Now, the disappointment that is evident from this list is the fact that there is no Tesla Cybertruck listed. That’s because it was the second-best-selling EV pickup on the market. The company sold 5,385 Cybertruck units in Q3.

The Cybertruck has been a vehicle that has confused many Tesla fans and owners, especially considering the company had such stratospheric expectations for the vehicle while it was in development. Reservation trackers had the truck sitting between one million and two million orders, but it has not lived up to that.

Pricing is the main issue with Cybertruck. Tesla introduced the pickup with Single, Dual, and Tri-motor configurations, priced at $39,990, $49,990, and $69,990. Those price points are simply a thing of the past.

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