‘This is Tesla’s loss, not India’s’, says Bhavish Aggarwal on Tesla’s exit from India

According to Ola founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, Tesla’s exit from the Indian market will be a loss for the company and not for India.

He said that the Indian EV and lithium industries are witnessing rapid growth, and it would be too late for Elon Musk’s Tesla if they try to enter the market after a few years.

“If true, this is Tesla’s loss, not India’s. While the Indian EV and Lithium ecosystem is early, we’re gaining momentum quickly. It’ll be too late for Tesla when they look at India seriously again in a few years,” Bhavish Agarwal posted on X (previously known as Twitter).

As per a report by the news agency Bloomberg, Tesla has failed to follow up with officials in New Delhi and has stopped contacting them. The report added that the country is not expecting Tesla to invest in India.

This comes weeks after Musk postponed his plans to visit India in April. According to Bloomberg’s report, the government knows about Tesla’s financial trouble, and that the EV company is not considering investing fresh funds in India.

Tesla reported a decline in global deliveries for the second straight quarter and is facing stiff competition from Chinese peers.

The Indian government is now turning towards domestic players in the market like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra to push EV production in India, the Bloomberg report further suggested.

Ola is also getting ready for the stock market debut of Ola Electric, its EV arm. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved its IPO in June 2024. The initial public offering consists of a primary issuance of ₹5,500 crore as well as a secondary sale of ₹1,750 crore. Notably, it makes Ola Electric the first EV startup to receive such clearance from SEBI.