Tesla enters India, registers company in Bengaluru

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has finally entered India by registering Tesla as a company in Bengaluru. According to the details available on the Registrar of Companies website, Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Limited has been incorporated and the registered address is in Lavelle Road, Bengaluru.

“Tesla registered its Indian subsidiary with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) in Bengaluru on January 8, with Rs 15 lakh authorised capital and Rs 1 lakh paid-up capital. Tesla India Motors and Energy Ltd has been opened in the city centre, with Vibhav Taneja, Venkatrangam Sreeram and David Jon Feinstein as its directors,” said the company in its filing with the RoC.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa also tweeted on Tuesday to inform that Tesla is setting up its research and development (R&D) centre in Bengaluru to commence its India operations soon. The Karnataka government had made a strong pitch to invite Tesla to the state. “Karnataka will lead India’s journey towards Green Mobility. Electric Vehicle Manufacturer Tesla will soon start its operations in India with an R&D unit in Bengaluru. I welcome @elonmusk to India & Karnataka and wish him all the very best,” tweeted Yediyurappa.

Tesla is also in touch with other state governments like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to start its India operations.

Tesla officials had held talks with the Karnataka government in September last year for opening its research facility in this tech hub. The R&D unit in India is Tesla’s second outside the US. Its first such overseas centre is in Shanghai where it has a Gigafactory to make electric cars. The tech-savvy Karnataka is the first state in the country to have an electric vehicle policy to woo investments in the sunrise sector. A slew of startups like Ola Electric, Sub Mobility and Ather have set up their operations in the city.