Tesla Chooses India To Be The Next Gigafactory, Gujarat Ready To Be The Location Of Choice

Tesla's robots complement manual precision such as lifting cars and aligning small parts of Tesla's Gigafactory. (Doc. Tesla)

JAKARTA - The potential for a Tesla electric vehicle factory (Gigafactory) in India is increasingly real. After a recent report that states Elon Musk may announce India's Gigafactory in early January 2024.

Di sisi lain, dilaporkan oleh Hindustan Times, Menteri Kesehatan Gujarat, India, memberi sinyal jika potensi ini semakin terbuka. Dalam komentarnya pada hari Kamis, 28 Desember, dilansir dari Teslarati, Menteri Kesehatan dan juru bicara pemerintah Gujarat, Rushikesh Patel, menyatakan bahwa pemerintah Gujarat be optimistic bahwa Tesla akan membentuk pabrik di negara tersebut. Ia juga menyebut Tesla telah melihat beberapa lokasi di India.

"Teslaha telah mengunjungi Gujarat, dan indikasinya menunjukkan preferensi untuk negara bagian ini sebagai lokasi pabrik pertama mereka di negara ini. Tim kami terus berkomunikasi dengan pejabat Tesla, dan kami tetap berharap ada pengumuman terkait ini segera," ujar Patel.

Overall, the state government expects Tesla to announce its decision on the Vibrant Gujarat Summit which is scheduled to be held in Gandhinagar in January 2024.

This Tesla potential deal is not the first time Gujarat has caught the attention of auto giants. In 2007, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, encouraged Ratan Tata to establish facilities in Gujarat. Tata's move to Gujarat helped make Sanand an automotive hub, and the area has since managed to attract investment from Ford, Maruti Suzuki, and MG.

Previous reports from Bloomberg News stated that India may allow Tesla to import its vehicles into the country by 2024, and the company will have a two-year window to build its plant.

The report said Tesla's initial investment was around $2 billion, with a long-term vision of up to $115 billion in local auto parts purchases. Even so, Gujarat's government officials confirmed that Tesla would not be given special incentives if the electric vehicle manufacturer actually established facilities in the country.

As is known, earlier this year Musk said Tesla would choose the location for the next Tesla Gigafactory by the end of 2023. The brand already has five operational Gigafactory locations (Nevada, New York, Shanghai, Berlin and Texas), with the sixth locations announced for Mexico.

The factory in India will be the seventh factory for the American electric vehicle maker.