US President Donald Trump has described Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s decision to set up a car manufacturing unit in India as ‘unfair’ to the United States. The comment came during a joint interview, aired on Tuesday, that Trump and Musk gave to the Fox News presenter Sean Hannity.
During the interview, Trump acknowledged that it is impossible for Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the Trump government, to sell his US-made cars in India due to high tariffs imposed by India. However, he said that if Musk sets up a car manufacturing unit in India, it would be unfair to the US. “Every country in the world takes advantage of us and they do it with tariffs…It is impossible to sell a car, practically, in, as an example, India”, Trump said.
“The tariffs are like 100% import duty”, said Musk agreeing with Trump. “Now, if he built the factory in India, that’s okay, but that’s unfair to us. It’s very unfair,” Trump added.
President Trump’s comments came after Tesla started hiring in India, a sure-sign indication that it is starting its operations in the country soon. On its official LinkedIn page, Tesla advertised several positions in India on Monday. The company is seeking candidates for several positions in customer support, services, operations, order, store etc areas. The positions are available in Mumbai and Delhi.
Notably, the Modi government has reduced import duty for electric vehicles, paving the way for Tesla’s entry into India. In this year’s budget, the duty for EVs priced above $40,000 has been slashed to 70 per cent from 125 per cent levied earlier, almost halving the tariff. Moreover, if a company assures an investment of ₹500 million over a five year period, the import duty will be only 15% for cars imported as Completely Knocked Down (CKD) units valued at $35,000 or above.
It is expected that Tesla will be making major investments in India and claim the duty concession on CKD units they import till the local facilities are ready. Earlier Musk had criticised India’s high tariffs on EVs on several occasions and cited it as the reason why Tesla cars are not sold in India.
Trump discussed reciprocal tariffs with PM Modi
During Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the US last week, Trump raised the issue of high tariffs on cars in India with him. “I told the Prime Minister Modi yesterday – he was here. I said, here is what you do. We’re going to do – be very fair with you. Whatever you charge, I’m charging”, said Trump. Musk supported his proposal calling it fair. Since assuming office last month, Trump has been pushing to boost domestic manufacturing for which he is planning to impose reciprocal tariffs on countries that impose tariffs on US imports. However, he expressed his willingness to finalise an early trade deal to resolve the tariff issue between India and the US.
