Tesla Starts Hiring in India Following PM Modi's Meeting with Elon Musk

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Tesla has started recruiting for 13 job openings in Mumbai and Delhi, signaling its potential entry into the Indian market soon.
• Positions like service technician, advisory roles, and customer engagement manager are being offered across both cities, with more roles specific to Mumbai.
• The Indian government's reduction in customs duty on luxury EVs clears a significant hurdle, making Tesla's potential launch in India more likely.

Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the electric vehicle giant has started recruiting in India, indicating that its long-anticipated entry into the country may happen sooner than later.

Tesla advertised a grand total of 13 job openings on its LinkedIn page in India across Mumbai and Delhi, covering a range of customer service, advisory, and back-end roles.

Tesla is offering at least five key roles, including service technician and advisory positions, in both Mumbai and Delhi. Additionally, positions like customer engagement manager and delivery operations specialist are currently only available in Mumbai.

Those vacancies will comprise Inside Sales Advisor, Customer Support Supervisor, Customer Support Specialist, Service Advisor, Order Operations Specialist, Service Manager, Tesla Advisor, Parts Advisor, Business Operations Analyst, Store Manager, and Service Technician.

Tesla has been having an eye for the Indian market for a time now, but evidently, it had to moot such plans because of unending wrangles over tariffs and policy issues. Musk even canceled a planned visit to the country last year at the last minute.

The government's reduction on the basic customs duty for luxury EVs priced above USD 40,000-from 110% to 70% offers a major dent that Tesla needed for its entry.

This would pretty much throw all speculation into the air, and while Tesla's agenda-setting human resource drive indicates that it is preparing to launch in India, no official announcement has been made yet.

Although Tesla’s hiring activity strongly indicates that the company is preparing to launch in India, it has yet to make an official announcement. It is also uncertain whether Tesla will start by importing vehicles or set up a local manufacturing unit.

However, with recruitment now underway, Tesla’s long-awaited arrival in India appears to be just around the corner.