Tesla envisions ‘partial presence’ in India by 2019 end

New Delhi: Tesla Motors’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Elon Musk, has revealed the company’s plans of expanding its overall market beyond North America, Europe, and China. Musk revealed on Twitter that he recently asked his service team to expand to all population regions (not just major metros) in North America, Eastern Europe, China, and Japan by the end of next year.

In a follow-up tweet, Musk said the firm is looking at establishing ‘partial presence’ in India, Africa, and South America by the end of next year, and expanding further in 2020. The 47-year-old opened up about his firm’s expansion plans after a user responded to a tweet in which Musk had revealed that Tesla and Panasonic are together the largest producer of batteries for electric vehicles in the world.

The user had asked if Panasonic “will also be a partner of the China giga battery production,” to which Musk said that Tesla plans to source cell production locally “most likely from several companies,” including Panasonic. “To clarify further, the long-term goal for Tesla mass market products is local production for local markets (at least at the continent level). This is critical to make pricing as affordable as possible,” Musk tweeted.