Connect with us
Tesla-india-approval-2024 Tesla-india-approval-2024

News

Tesla wants India’s government to consider lowering import taxes

(Credit: Tesla)

Published

on

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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

Elon Musk

Tesla Full Self-Driving gets an offer to be insured for ‘almost free’

“If @elonmusk is game, we’d be happy to explore insuring Tesla FSD miles for (almost) free.”

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla Full Self-Driving just got an insurance offer from Lemonade Co-founder and President Shai Wininger that might be too good to pass up, as he wants to insure vehicles on FSD for “almost free.”

Traditionally, Tesla vehicles are slightly more expensive to insure with traditional companies because of higher repair costs that stem from their technology and state-of-the-art structural battery design.

However, the development of the Full Self-Driving suite by Tesla has certainly pulled some tech entrepreneurs and others to believe the vehicles should be much cheaper to insure.

While there are certainly people on both sides of the spectrum, a handful of notable tech figures believe the data shows that Teslas operating on FSD are safer than human drivers.

Tesla Q2 2025 vehicle safety report proves FSD makes driving almost 10X safer

Advertisement

One of the tech figures who believes that is Shai Wininger, President and Co-founder of Lemonade, an insurance company that has nearly two million customers.

On X, Wininger recently announced the direct integration with Tesla vehicles that would roll out to Lemonade customers. The integration would “remove the need for a UBI device in our Pay Per Mile product. This makes activating Lemonade Car on Teslas effortless and lets us cut hardware and shipping costs, helping lower prices for Tesla drivers even further.”

He said the Tesla API complemented Lemonade’s platform because it provides “richer and more accurate driving behavior data than traditional UBI devices.”

He then proposed an idea to CEO Elon Musk, stating that Lemonade would “be happy to explore insuring Tesla FSD miles for (almost) free.”

It would provide Tesla drivers with stable and accurate insurance, while also incentivizing owners to utilize the Full Self-Driving suite for their miles, making the semi-autonomous driving platform extremely cost-effective to use.

Wininger said it would be available in states where Tesla’s in-house insurance program is not available. Tesla Insurance is available in twelve states, and is looking to expand in Florida, as we reported earlier this week. However, it has not expanded to a new state in about three years.

The thought of Lemonade being able to insure FSD miles for almost nothing is an extremely attractive offer from Wininger, and could potentially be a new outlet to make Teslas even less expensive to own and operate throughout their lifetime.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package hits first adversity from proxy firm

ISS said the size of the pay package will enable Musk to have access to “extraordinarily high pay opportunities over the next ten years,” and it will have an impact on future packages because it will “reduce the board’s ability to meaningfully adjust future pay levels.”

Published

on

tesla elon musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package, which was proposed by the company last month, has hit its first bit of adversity from proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS).

Musk has called the firm “ISIS,” a play on its name relating it to the terrorist organization, in the past.

The pay package aims to lock in Musk to the CEO role at Tesla for the next decade, as it will only be paid in full if he is able to unlock each tranche based on company growth, which will reward shareholders.

Advertisement

However, the sum is incredibly large and would give Musk the ability to become the first trillionaire in history, based on his holdings. This is precisely why ISS is advising shareholders to vote against the pay plan.

The group said that Musk’s pay package will lock him in, which is the goal of the Board, and it is especially important to do this because of his “track record and vision.”

However, it also said the size of the pay package will enable Musk to have access to “extraordinarily high pay opportunities over the next ten years,” and it will have an impact on future packages because it will “reduce the board’s ability to meaningfully adjust future pay levels.”

The release from ISS called the size of Musk’s pay package “astronomical” and said its design could continue to pay the CEO massive amounts of money for even partially achieving the goals. This could end up in potential dilution for existing investors.

If Musk were to reach all of the tranches, Tesla’s market cap could reach up to $8.5 trillion, which would make it the most valuable company in the world.

Advertisement

Tesla has made its own attempts to woo shareholders into voting for the pay package, which it feels is crucial not only for retaining Musk but also for continuing to create value for shareholders.

Tesla launched an ad for Elon Musk’s pay package on Paramount+

Musk has also said he would like to have more ownership control of Tesla, so he would not have as much of an issue with who he calls “activist shareholders.”

Continue Reading

News

Tesla is adding an interesting feature to its centerscreen in a coming update

In a recent dissection of coding, Tesla hacker green noticed that the company is bringing in screenshare with Software Update 2025.38

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla is adding an interesting feature to its center touchscreen in a coming update, according to a noted hacker.

In a recent dissection of coding, Tesla hacker green noticed that the company is bringing in screenshare with Software Update 2025.38. Details on the use case are slim, but he said the feature would export the car screen so it could be viewed remotely.

It would bring up a notification on the screen, along with a four-digit pin that would link the two together:

Advertisement

As previously mentioned, the use case is unclear, but there are some ideas. One of which is for remote support, which is something Apple has used to help resolve issues with its products.

Support staff and employees routinely tap into customers’ screens to help resolve issues, so this could be a way Tesla could also use it.

This seems especially relevant with Robotaxi, as the screen might be a crucial part of resolving customer complaints when there is no employee in the car.

Additionally, it seems as if it will not be exclusive to those owners who have newer vehicles that utilize the AMD chip. Intel will get support with the new feature as well, according to what green has noticed in the coding.

Finally, it could also be used with all sorts of content creation, especially as Full Self-Driving videos and what the vehicle sees in Driver Visualization.

Advertisement

As it is released, Tesla will likely release more information regarding what the screensharing mode will be used for.

For right now, many owners are wondering where it could actually work and what advantages it will offer for owners as well as the company itself.

Continue Reading

Trending