Donald Trump on Tesla: ‘Very Unfair’ to Commence Operations in India

Following days after PM Narendra Modi's meeting with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, U.S. president said that any commencement of plans by the EV maker to build a factory in India would be ‘very unfair’. The comments came as part of a conversation with Elon Musk on Sean Hannity's programme.

During the interview Trump said, “...every country in the world takes advantage of us, and they do it with tariffs. They — make it — it's impossible for him to sell a car, practically, in, as an example, India. I don't know if that's true or not, but I think —”

Musk verified the claim by stating, “The tariffs are like 100% import duty,” to which Trump concurred, describing the tariffs as “so high.”

A White House fact sheet highlighted that India levies 100% tariff on imports of U.S. motorcycles, whereas the latter imposes merely 2.4% on Indian motorcycles imports.

Trump further elaborated, “Now, if he built the factory in India, that's okay, but that's unfair to us. It's very unfair.”

Notably, Tesla seems to be making calibrated efforts to introduce EVs in India. Following PM Modi’s meeting with Elon Musk in the U.S., Tesla has begun recruitment for close to 13 positions in India. The development appears to be a step in the right direction as it shows Tesla’s willingness to commence its operations in the country following years of discussions.