Wait for Tesla to get longer in India, Elon Musk raises concern over sourcing norms

In February, the CEO of California-based electric car specialist Tesla, Elon Musk, had tweeted about the India launch plan of the brand. Musk had said that Tesla's India debut can be expected in the summer. However, it looks like prospective Tesla buyers will have to wait as a recent tweet from Musk indicates that there would be a delay in the launch.

Also read: All you need to know about the Tesla Model Y crossover 

For a tweet asking the chances of Tesla debuting in India in 2017 or 2018, Musk replied: "Maybe I'm misinformed, but I was told that 30% of parts must be locally sourced and the supply doesn't yet exist in India to support that." Though he has not mentioned any time frame for his company's India launch, the tweet indicates that Tesla cars on Indian roads is still far away.

For uninitiated, FDI rules state that 30 percent of parts should be locally sourced if foreign investment in single-brand retail segment goes beyond 51 percent. The law also directs procurement of source preferably from Micro, Medium and Small Enterprise's (MSME), village and cottage industries, artisans and craftsmen.

The tweet from Musk also indicates that Tesla may assemble cars in India. Auto Expo 2018 is deemed to be the platform for Tesla to enter India. However, with the new developments, the debut is likely to be delayed.

The India-bound model from Tesla is Model 3, which was unveiled in April 2016. During the product unveiling, Musk had confirmed the company's plan to sell Model 3 all over the world, including India. Booking were open for Indian customers as well. And within a week of launch, Tesla Model 3 had received over 3.25 lakh bookings.

Musk had earlier also mentioned plan to set up a pan-India supercharger network. In November 2016, it was also reported that chief ministers of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana had sent separate envoys in a bid to woo Musk and bag a project to set up a manufacturing plant for Tesla in their respective states. Tesla, however, has remained unmoved about this proposal.