Is it impossible for Elon Musk to sell cars in India? Well, U.S. President Donald Trump thinks so. But that isn’t stopping Musk’s Tesla from gearing up for its India entry.
First up – Elon Musk’s Tesla is once again prepping for its India debut. Just days after Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington, D.C., the electric vehicle giant has posted job openings in India. Reports suggest it has also started scouting for showroom spaces in Delhi and Mumbai.
At the same time, in a Fox News joint interview with Musk, President Trump reiterated his concerns regarding India’s tariffs. He said, and I quote, “It’s impossible for Elon to sell a car, practically, in, as an example, India.” The Tesla CEO supported this claim, saying India’s duty on auto imports was 100%. Trump also said that if Tesla makes cars in India, that would be "very unfair" to the United States.
Staying with President Trump who has proposed selling India F-35 stealth fighter jets, with 114 units potentially costing around 80 million dollars per jet. This has raised concerns over affordability and the deal’s impact on India-Russia ties. India also has the option of acquiring Russia’s Su-57, priced at 35-40 million dollars each, with co-production opportunities. Notably, in the past, Elon Musk has called the F-35 “junk” and questioned the relevance of manned fighter jets in the drone era.
Now, India may or may not make foreign fighter jets locally, but Apple’s Make in India push is a huge hit. And that’s bringing another Apple components manufacturer to the country. Japanese electronics giant Murata Manufacturing is setting up a manufacturing unit at an industrial park in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Murata is known for its multilayer ceramic capacitors, which are used in smartphones.
Shifting focus to Indian businesses – Tata Sons is reportedly unhappy with BigBasket’s performance. According to an Economic Times report, the parent company is concerned about BigBasket trailing quick commerce competitors such as Zepto, Blinkit, and Instamart due to strategic missteps. The report also says that Tata wants BigBasket to regain its lost market share and raise the next round of billion-dollar funding from external sources.
Talking of setbacks – PVR INOX got one from a consumer court this week. Abhishek M.R., a moviegoer in Bengaluru, sued PVR Cinemas, INOX, and BookMyShow, claiming they wasted 25 minutes of his time by running lengthy advertisements before a movie screening. The consumer court ruled in his favor and awarded him 65,000 rupees in compensation. The court also asked PVR INOX to deposit a fine of one lakh rupees in the Consumer Welfare Fund but dismissed the plea against BookMyShow.
Also in payouts – Delhi has a new chief minister now. BJP’s Rekha Gupta has been sworn in as the ninth CM of the National Capital Territory. In one of her first interactions with the media in the new role, Gupta said that women in Delhi will start receiving 2,500 rupees per month by the eighth of March. Financial assistance to women was one of the key promises made by the BJP in the run-up to the Delhi polls. This will be the third BJP-led government to implement such a policy after Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
And before we wrap, here’s a quick market update for the week. Indian equity markets slipped again, with the Sensex and the Nifty down almost a percent each. Selling by Foreign Institutional Investors, as a strong dollar attracts investors to dollar-denominated assets, has been cited as the key reason for the current sell-off. But Domestic Institutional Investors, or DIIs, continue their unwavering support for Indian equities. In almost a month and a half, DIIs have poured 1.2 lakh crore rupees into Indian markets, while their foreign counterparts have sold shares worth 1.06 lakh crore rupees.
