"Working through challenges with government": Elon Musk on Tesla's launch in India

In response to a question on when it would launch its electric cars in India, Tesla's CEO Elon Musk on Thursday said that the company is still working through a lot of challenges with the government.

Taking to Twitter, Musk said "Still working through a lot of challenges with the government," replying to a user who had asked if there was any update on Tesla's launch in India.

However, Musk in his Twitter post didn't identify the "challenges" being worked on.

Musk and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration have been in talks for years regarding this, but disagreements over a local factory and the country's import duties of as much as 100% have led to an impasse. The government has asked the EV maker to ramp up local procurement and share detailed manufacturing plans; Musk has demanded lower taxes so that Tesla can start off by selling imported vehicles at a cheaper price in a budget-conscious market.

In October, an Indian minister said he had asked Tesla to avoid selling China-made cars in the country, and urged the automaker to manufacture, sell and export vehicles from a local factory. India, with a population comparable to China, is a highly promising market for EV makers, but the country's roads are still dominated by cheap, no-frills cars made by the local units of Suzuki Motor Corp and Hyundai Motor Co.

Tesla will also face competition from other foreign players, including Mercedes-Benz, which announced Wednesday it'll roll out a locally assembled EQS -- the electric version of its flagship S-Class sedan -- in India by the fourth quarter.