Tesla Posts Job Openings in India, Signaling Entry Plans After PM Modi’s US Trip

Tesla is hiring in India, in mounting signs it plans to enter the market shortly after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US.

The electric-vehicle maker sought candidates for 13 roles, including customer-facing and back-end jobs, according to advertisements on Monday on its LinkedIn page.

At least five of the positions, including service technician and various advisory roles, were available in both Mumbai and Delhi, while the rest of the openings, such as customer engagement manager and delivery operations specialist, were for Mumbai.

Tesla and India have engaged on-and-off for years, but the carmaker had stayed away over concerns on high import duties. India reduced basic customs duty on cars priced above $40,000 (roughly Rs. 34.7 lakh) from 110 percent to 70 percent earlier this month, offering a pre-emptive olive branch to the US, which under President Donald Trump, plans to impose reciprocal tariffs.

While India's EV market is still nascent compared to China's, it offers an avenue for Tesla to check slowing sales after it posted its first annual drop in EV sales in over a decade. 

Although India's electric car sales barely touched 100,000 units last year compared to China's 11 million, it's a rapidly growing EV market where local and global automakers are doubling down on rolling out battery-powered vehicles.

Despite the job openings offering the strongest sign so far of Tesla's plans to sell cars in India, it's not the first time the company has gone down this path. The Musk-led firm had kicked off a flurry of activity in 2021 by setting up sales infrastructure in India, with a team of over a dozen executives.

Backburner

It had even hired a lobbyist then to lead negotiations with the Indian government to lower import tariffs — something that Musk has often called a deterrent to its India plans. A year later, Tesla put its plans on the backburner, with all its local executives moving on to other markets or to different roles outside Tesla.

The lobbying efforts restarted sometime in 2023 after Musk met PM Modi in the US, with the world's richest person saying Tesla would like to invest in India “as soon as humanly possible.”

The Indian government in March last year unveiled a new initiative which offered lower tariffs of 15% for imports of electric cars priced above $40,000 (roughly Rs. 34.7 lakh), if the carmakers committed to investing $500 million (roughly Rs. 4,347 crore) in India and begin local manufacturing in three years. In April, Musk abruptly cancelled his India visit, citing “very heavy Tesla obligations,” and went to China instead.

The latest breakthrough comes after Musk and PM Modi met last week during the Indian leader's US visit. In an X post, PM Modi said he discussed “space, mobility, technology and innovation”, with Musk, without any specifics on Tesla's interest in selling cars or investing in India.

The India plans came at a critical time for the EV maker as the adoption rate globally for electric cars comes under pressure and rivals like BYD Co. step up their game. But it's unclear whether Tesla intends to invest in India just yet.

Tesla wasn't planning any new capacities or new manufacturing facilities and focusing instead on using “current production lines much more efficiently,” Musk had said in an April 24 earnings call.

Trump's Cabinet 

Trump in a White House press conference said PM Modi agreed to begin negotiations to address the US trade deficit and boost US military purchases, including steps that will ultimately lead to a deal for F-35 fighter jets.

Although Musk is a key member of Trump's cabinet, the president didn't say if the tech billionaire met PM Modi as a CEO of private companies or in his role with DOGE team. 

Musk's role in Trump's government has blurred the lines between his business and political interests. Last month, Italy confirmed talks with Musk's SpaceX for a deal to provide secure telecommunications for the nation's government, a development that followed Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meeting with then President-elect Trump in Florida.

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