Maharashtra minister invites Elon Musk to set up Tesla plant in state

After Telangana, Maharashtra has now rolled out the red carpet for American billionaire and electric car guru Elon Musk to set up a Tesla manufacturing plant in the state, just days after Musk confessed to running into hurdles related to beginning his business endeavours in India.

Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil, in a reply to Mr Musk's tweet, said, "Maharashtra is one of the most progressive states in India. We will provide you all the necessary help from Maharashtra for you to get established in India."

Musk said that he was facing several "challenges" with respect to the Indian government in setting up a plant in India although he did not specify the exact problems. However, Musk had tweeted last year, criticising India's import duties which he declared were some of "the highest in the world."

Import duties for electric cars - Tesla's main source of income - can go as high as 100% in India. Tesla has complained that high import duties on completely build units of foreign automobiles would restrict the sales of its vehicles as well as that of electric vehicles in general. High duties would also make it tougher to commit to an investment in India, the company has said.

Telangana has also extended an invitation for Musk to begin Tesla ventures there with minister KT Rama Rao saying that he and his government would be "happy to partner Tesla" in working through the challenges.

Even as Tesla is holding out for a cut in import duties, luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz will start assembling the electric version of its flagship S-Class sedan, the EQS, in India later this year.

Other states like Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have also been open in their desires to have Tesla set up shop in their state.