Tesla Starts Hiring In India, Signalling Market Entry After Musk’s Meeting With PM Modi

Tesla Inc. has started recruiting in India, indicating its imminent entry into the market following Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the United States.

The electric vehicle manufacturer advertised 13 job vacancies on its LinkedIn page on Monday, covering both customer-facing and back-end roles.

At least five of these positions, including service technician and various advisory roles, are available in both Mumbai and Delhi. The remaining roles, such as customer engagement manager and delivery operations specialist, are designated for Mumbai.

Tesla and India have been in discussions for several years, but the company had refrained from entering the South Asian market due to concerns over high import duties. However, India has now reduced the basic customs duty on high-end cars priced above $40,000 from 110% to 70%.

Although India's electric vehicle market remains in its early stages compared to China's, it presents an opportunity for Tesla to counter slowing sales, following its first annual decline in EV sales in over a decade. While India's electric car sales reached nearly 100,000 units last year, China recorded 11 million.

Tesla's move into India follows PM Modi's meeting with Musk and former US President Donald Trump in Washington last week. Trump later stated that Modi had agreed to begin negotiations to address the US trade deficit and boost military purchases, including discussions on the potential supply of F-35 fighter jets.

Although Musk is a key figure in Trump's administration, the president did not clarify whether the tech billionaire met Modi in his capacity as a CEO of private companies or in his role with the DOGE team.

Musk's involvement in Trump's government has increasingly blurred the boundaries between his business and political interests.

Last month, Italy confirmed discussions with Musk's SpaceX regarding a deal to provide secure telecommunications for the country's government. This development followed a meeting between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and then President-elect Trump in Florida.