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Tesla receives offers from several Indian politicians despite standstill with government

[Credit: CBS This Morning/YouTube]

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After Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented last week that the automaker was still navigating through various “challenges” with the Indian government, speculation whether the EV maker would ever enter the market began to come into play.

However, despite a long-lasting standstill with the Indian government, caused mainly by a disagreement of necessary terms, politicians from various Indian states Tweeted Musk to entice the CEO of Tesla to build a manufacturing hub in the country. To secure a manufacturing hub in India, there are still various hurdles that the government and Tesla must work through, and politicians are willing to help.

K. T. Rama Rao, the Industry & Commerce Minister of Telangana state in India, offered Musk and Tesla an open invitation to build a new factory in his state. “Our state is a champion in sustainability initiatives & a top notch business destination in India, he said.

Navjot Singh Sidhu, a retired Cricket player turned politician, offered Musk the State of Punjab’s largest City, Ludhiana, as a potential landing spot for the automaker’s fifth EV production facility. Sidhu said Tesla’s investment into EVs and batteries could bring a substantial economic injection to the area through new, sustainable employment opportunities, environmental preservation, and sustainable development.

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Jayant Patil, an Indian politician from the State of Maharashtra, said the area is “one of the most progressive states” in the country. Patil believes the politicians of Maharashtra, where Tesla has been linked in the past, would work with other government agencies to get Tesla established in India.

Finally, M B Patil from Karnataka said his area would help push for the development of industries and employment. “We are the knowledge capital of India, not just IT capital. The next decades are about EV, AI, and Robotics,” Patil Tweeted to Musk. Karnataka has been the discussion of a potential Tesla plant in the past.

Tesla has had intentions to enter India ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Tesla’s Fremont Factory in Northern California in 2015. However, various disagreements about how Tesla could enter the market effectively have prevented this. While plenty of areas are willing to bring Tesla in, the real bottleneck lies in India’s import taxes on vehicles manufactured elsewhere. Tesla is unwilling to enter a large market without additional evidence that it could succeed in India. Musk has indicated in the past that Tesla would commit to an Indian Gigafactory if imports could be sent to the country to test demand. India’s focus on reviving the country’s sluggish manufacturing sector has prevented the Government from committing to these plans.

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Update 2:45 PM EST: Added Tweet of K. T. Rama Rao,  an Indian politician serving as the Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Industries & Commerce, and Information Technology of Telangana.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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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Texas lawmakers urge Tesla to delay Austin robotaxi launch to September

The letter urges Tesla to delay its initial robotaxi launch in the interest of public safety.

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Credit: @HanChulYong/X

A group of Democratic lawmakers from Austin is asking Tesla to postpone its planned robotaxi rollout, at least until a new state law governing autonomous vehicles takes effect in September.

The letter, which was sent Wednesday, urges Tesla to delay its initial robotaxi launch in the interest of public safety.

What the lawmakers’ letter says

In their letter, the Democratic lawmakers stated that delaying Tesla’s initial robotaxi launch would build trust in the electric vehicle maker’s autonomous vehicle operations.

“We are formally requesting that Tesla delay autonomous robotaxi operations until the new law takes effect on September 1, 2025. We believe this is in the best interest of both public safety and building public trust in Tesla’s operations,” the letter read.

The lawmakers noted that if Tesla wishes to push through with its planned June 22 launch, the company must provide detailed information explaining its robotaxi service’s initial launch.

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New rules kick in September

The new Texas law passed state legislature last month, and it introduces stricter requirements for companies deploying fully self-driving cars. 

Current state law allows autonomous vehicle testing without a human driver, as long as vehicles meet basic registration and insurance standards. The updated framework gives state agencies more oversight, including the ability to revoke permits if autonomous vehicles pose safety risks.

It remains to be seen if the Democratic lawmakers’ efforts will bear fruit, especially since Texas is state where Republicans hold the governorship and majorities in both legislative chambers, as noted in a Reuters report.

Elon Musk, for his part, confirmed that Tesla’s initial robotaxi launch for Austin this June will start with a small fleet of Model Y vehicles. He also noted the service would initially operate only in parts of the city the company deems safest.

Tesla has not issued a comment about the Democratic lawmakers’ letter as of writing.

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xAI’s Grok 3 partners with Oracle Cloud for corporate AI innovation  

Elon Musk’s xAI partners with Oracle to deliver Grok 3 to enterprise users via OCI. The move boosts Grok’s reach.

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Credit: Elon Musk | X

xAI’s Grok 3 is partnering with Oracle Cloud to deliver its advanced AI model to corporate customers.

Oracle announced its collaboration with xAI earlier this week. The partnership leverages Oracle’s robust infrastructure to offer xAI’s Grok 3, positioning it as a transformative tool for business applications.

“Today, we announced xAI has selected Oracle to offer xAI’s Grok models via OCI Generative AI service for a wide range of use cases and will use OCI’s leading AI infrastructure to train and run inferencing for its next-generation Grok models,” said Clay Magouyrk, Executive Vice President at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, via LinkedIn.

Oracle’s cost-effective AI capabilities will support xAI’s demanding workloads, enabling faster processing for enterprise users.

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Oracle’s Karan Batta told Reuters: “Our goal here is to make sure that we can provide a portfolio of models – we don’t have our own.” Oracle will host Grok 3 alongside models from Meta, Mistral, and Cohere, ensuring corporate data remains secure within existing Oracle protections.

Oracle’s strategy focuses on integrating popular AI models into corporate software, and xAI’s Grok 3 enhances this portfolio. The collaboration expands Grok’s reach to businesses seeking secure, high-performance AI solutions for diverse use cases.

Elon Musk’s xAI launched Grok 3 in February. It competes with models from DeepSeek and OpenAI. Grok 3 is free for all X users, but features are limited. X offers Premium and Premium+ subscribers access to Grok 3’s advanced capabilities like DeepResearch and Think modes. Users who are not paid subscribers have access to Grok 3’s basic features.

Elon Musk’s companies have a longstanding relationship with Oracle. In 2018, Tesla appointed Oracle founder Larry Ellison to its board, a move Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives called a “home run appointment.”

In 2023, Ellison–who is no longer on Tesla’s board but still close with Musk–revealed plans for a Tesla Cybertruck police car.

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“Our next-generation police car is coming out very soon,” Ellison said at the 2023 Oracle CloudWorld conference in Las Vegas. “It’s my favorite police car. It’s my favorite car, actually. It’s Elon’s favorite car.”

Grok 3’s integration into Oracle Cloud strengthens xAI’s position in the corporate artificial intelligence market. By combining Oracle’s infrastructure with Grok’s cutting-edge capabilities, this collaboration could redefine enterprise AI adoption, driving innovation across industries.

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Tesla Robotaxis are becoming a common sight on Austin’s public roads

Tesla Robotaxi sightings are becoming much more frequent ahead of its launch planned for this month.

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Credit: @Muzeishen | X

Tesla Robotaxis are becoming a common sight on the public roads of Austin, Texas, as yet another test mule has been spotted near the company’s target launch date.

Just over a week ago, the first public sighting of a driverless Tesla Robotaxi was reported. The vehicle was an updated version of the Tesla Model Y, which will be the initial model used in the public deployment of the Robotaxi platform.

Throughout the past week, sightings have been more common, as people in Austin have been looking for the unique decal Tesla is placing on car doors to recognize the driverless vehicles (After all, Robotaxis are not as easy to recognize as driverless vehicles without the LIDAR unit on the roof like Waymo).

Yet another sighting of a Robotaxi was shared on social media today, just two days before CEO Elon Musk’s proposed launch date of June 22:

It is easy to tell that there is nobody in the driver’s seat of this vehicle. Tesla is using its white interior on this particular mule, making it incredibly simple to recognize that no human is controlling the car.

Whether Tesla will still meet the June 22nd deadline remains to be seen, but it is no secret that the company is prioritizing safety ahead of offering public rides.

Tesla will initially roll out the Robotaxi platform in Austin, but it has already started the regulatory process in other areas, specifically California.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is also helping to streamline the process for companies developing driverless vehicles by giving exemptions to automakers. It will make things much more efficient, benefiting Tesla and other car companies that have similar plans.

Tesla Robotaxi just got a big benefit from the U.S. government

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