News
Tesla’s entry in India must benefit local auto part suppliers
Tesla’s ongoing saga with India’s government officials regarding the potential entrance of the electric car manufacturer into the country is drawing remarks from all sectors. This morning, it was reported that India-based auto suppliers and car part makers want Tesla’s entrance to benefit local suppliers. The only way that can be possible is if Tesla sets up a manufacturing unit in India, which the company is unable to commit to currently.
In July, CEO Elon Musk indicated that Tesla’s potential in India must be measured through importing vehicles before committing to building a massive production facility in the country. The issue with this strategy is that importing cars into India is an expensive process and requires the customer to pay hefty import duties that, in some cases, double the cost of the vehicle. Cars less than $40,000 are subjected to a 60% import tax, while anything more expensive gets a full 100% duty applied. This limits Tesla’s ability to import vehicles into the market because few are willing to pay these expensive fees.
Tesla has petitioned to reduce import duties for electric vehicles, but India’s government is unwilling to budge currently. Favoring domestic and local manufacturing efforts, the current government administration has said on numerous occasions that import duty percentages are unlikely to be changed because it heavily favors local manufacturing efforts.
Tesla wants India’s government to consider lowering import taxes
Auto part suppliers are taking the stance of the Indian government, as well. There is now a domestic debate of whether a reduction of import duties supports local manufacturing.
“We will always promote localization,” the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) president Deepak Jain said, according to Reuters. “We would welcome any foreign or domestic entry, capacity expansions on any vehicle segment as long as it promotes value addition and localization, which gives the opportunity for the component sector to flourish.”
What complicates this issue is that India is known for supporting oil. In a market where electric cars make up less than 1% of the total automotive market, there are questions of whether local companies would be able to fulfill Tesla and other electric automaker’s needs. Batteries are the biggest thing, electric motors being a high-ranking item on the list as well. This would likely require importing these parts to India for the short term.
Jain did say that ACMA is working with the government to see what elements of an EV can be manufactured locally. However, depleting vehicle sales, sliding due to the COVID-19 pandemic are affecting these suppliers. The lack of capital may require these companies to make sizable investments and could be detrimental to a business if they fail.
Tesla is not alone in the fight to reduce Indian import duties. Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz are also attempting to combat the excessive taxes to benefit from sales in the country. “To give confidence to carmakers, if India is able to liberalize the import tax, then companies like Mercedes can test the market and choose to manufacture EV models locally,” Mercedes-Benz India’s VP of Sales and Marketing Santosh Iyer said.
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Elon Musk
Texas township wants The Boring Company to build it a Loop system
The township’s board unanimously approved an application to The Boring Company’s “Tunnel Vision Challenge.”
The Woodlands Township, Texas, has formally entered The Boring Company’s tunneling sweepstakes.
The township’s board unanimously approved an application to The Boring Company’s “Tunnel Vision Challenge,” which offers up to one mile of tunnel construction at no cost to a selected community.
The Woodlands’ proposal, dubbed “The Current,” features two parallel 12-foot-diameter tunnels beneath the Town Center corridor near The Waterway. Teslas would shuttle passengers between Waterway Square, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Town Green Park and nearby hotels during concerts and large-scale events, as noted in a Chron report.
Township officials framed the tunnel as a solution for the township’s traffic congestion issues. The Pavilion alone hosts more than 60 shows each year and can accommodate crowds of up to 16,500, often straining Lake Robbins Drive and surrounding intersections.
“We know we have traffic impacts and pedestrian movement challenges, especially in the Town Center area,” Chris Nunes, chief operating officer of The Woodlands Township, stated during the meeting.
“The Current” mirrors the Loop system operating beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center, where Tesla vehicles transport passengers through underground tunnels between venues and resorts.
The Boring Company issued its request for proposals (RFP) in mid-January, inviting cities and districts to pitch local uses for its tunneling technology. The Woodlands must submit its application by Feb. 23, though no timeline has been provided for when a winning community will be announced.
Nunes confirmed that the board has authorized a submission for “The Current’s” proposal, though he emphasized that the project is still in its preliminary stages.
“The Woodlands Township Board of Directors has authorized staff to submit an application to The Boring Company, which has issued an RFP for communities interested in leveraging their technology to address community challenges,” he said in a statement.
“The Board believes that an underground tunnel would provide a safe and efficient means to transport people to and from various high-use community amenities in our Town Center.”
News
Tesla Model Y wins 2026 Drive Car of the Year award in Australia
The Model Y is already Australia’s best-selling EV in 2025 and the tenth best-selling vehicle overall.
The Tesla Model Y has been named 2026 Drive Car of the Year overall winner, taking the top honor after being judged as the vehicle that “moves the game forward the most for Australian new car buyers.”
The Model Y is already Australia’s best-selling EV in 2025 and the tenth best-selling vehicle overall, but the vehicle’s Juniper update strengthened its case with new ownership benefits and expanded software capability.
Drive’s overall award compares category winners and looks at which model most significantly advances the local new car market. In 2026, judges pointed to the Model Y’s five-year warranty and the availability of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) as a monthly subscription as key differentiators.
Priced from AU$58,900 before on-road costs, the all-electric crossover SUV offers a lot of value compared to similarly sized petrol and hybrid rivals. The ability to access Tesla’s Supercharger network across Australia also reduces friction for buyers moving to EV ownership.
Owners can add FSD (Supervised) for AU$149 per month. While it still requires driver oversight, the system expands the vehicle’s advanced driver-assistance capabilities and reflects Tesla’s software-first approach.
“The default choice for a reason. The Tesla Model Y makes the transition to electric both effortless and rewarding,” Drive wrote.
The 2025 Model Y facelift also sharpened the vehicle’s exterior, highlighted by a distinctive rear light bar that gives the crossover SUV a more modern road presence.
Drive described the Model Y as a benchmark for combining practicality, efficiency and technology at an accessible price point. With eligibility for federal Fringe Benefit Tax exemptions through novated leasing, its value proposition has improved for numerous buyers.
For 2026, the Model Y’s combination of range efficiency, charging access and software capability proved decisive. Ultimately, the award all but cements the Model Y’s position as one of the most influential vehicles in Australia’s evolving new-car market today.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk reiterates rapid Starship V3 timeline with next launch in sight
Musk shared the update in a brief post on X, writing, “Starship flies again next month.”
Elon Musk has confirmed that Starship will fly again next month, reiterating SpaceX’s aggressive timeline for the first launch of its Starship V3 rocket.
Musk shared the update in a brief post on X, writing, “Starship flies again next month.” The CEO’s post was accompanied by a video of Starship’s Super Heavy booster being successfully caught by a launch tower in Starbase, Texas.
The timeline is notable. In late January, Musk stated that Starship’s next flight, Flight 12, was expected in about six weeks. This placed the expected mission date sometime in March. That estimate aligned with SpaceX’s earlier statement that Starship’s 12th flight test “remains targeted for the first quarter of 2026.”
If the vehicle does indeed fly next month, it would mark the debut of Starship V3, the upgraded platform expected to feature the rocket’s new Raptor V3 engines.
Raptor V3 is designed to deliver significantly higher thrust than earlier versions while reducing cost and weight. Starship V3 itself is expected to be optimized for manufacturability, a critical step if SpaceX intends to scale production toward frequent launches for Starlink, lunar missions, and eventually Mars.
Starship V3 is widely viewed as the version that transitions the program from experimental testing to true operational scaling. Previous iterations have completed multiple integrated flight tests, with mixed outcomes but steady progress. Expectations are high that SpaceX is now working on Starship’s refinement.
An aggressive launch schedule supports several priorities at once. It advances Starlink’s next-generation satellite deployment, supports NASA’s lunar ambitions under Artemis, and keeps SpaceX on track for its longer-term Moon and Mars objectives.
Texas township wants The Boring Company to build it a Loop system
Tesla Model Y wins 2026 Drive Car of the Year award in Australia
