India Doesn’t Feature In Teslas Plans To Make Affordable Electric Cars

Tesla Inc. wants to make affordable electric cars, just not in India. At least not immediately. The world’s largest electric carmaker by market capitalisation plans to raise production by 50% to its current installed capacity of 3 million units before investing in new manufacturing lines, according to a post-earnings conference call on April 23.

“We’ve updated our future vehicle line-up to accelerate the launch of new models ahead,” Elon Musk, chief executive at Tesla, said in his opening address to the concall. “I previously mentioned the start of production in the second half of 2025, so we expect it to be more like early 2025, if not later this year.” 

These new vehicles, he said, will be able to be produced on the same manufacturing lines as Tesla’s current vehicle line-up.

“So, it’s not contingent on any new factory or massive new production line; it’ll be made on our current production lines much more efficiently,” he said. “And we think this should allow us to get over the 3 million vehicles of capacity when realised to the full extent.”

Investors cheered that prudent approach to capital expenditure at a time when Tesla’s earnings are under pressure. The stock surged as much as 12% in after-hours trading in the US, despite the company missing estimates.

This story will be updated shortly.