Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Elon Musk's Tesla to scout sites in India for £2.4 billion EV plant: Report

Tesla has told Indian officials it is considering building a smaller car in the proposed new factory than its current models.

Elon Musk's Tesla to scout sites in India for £2.4 billion EV plant: Report

Tesla will send a team from the United States to India by late April to study sites for a proposed $2 billion to $3 billion (£2.4bn) electric car plant in the country.

The Financial Times reported that Tesla would send a team to study sites for the plant, focusing on states with existing automotive hubs, including Maharashtra and Gujarat in the west and Tamil Nadu in the south.


The company's reported push into India comes at a time when electric vehicle (EV) demand is slowing in its main markets of the US and China while competition there is heating up, reported Reuters.

Tesla on Tuesday posted a decline in quarterly deliveries for the first time in nearly four years and missed Wall Street estimates. It also led to huge drop in shares of Musk's company, losing about $30 billion (£23.7bn) in market value, reported Reuters.

Musk, after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year had said he plans to visit India in 2024. “We don’t want to jump the gun on an announcement, but I think it’s quite likely that it will be a significant investment, a relationship with India,” he had said.

India has been pitching as an alternate destination for investment for US companies as the relations between Beijing and Washington have been deteriorating.

Tesla has told Indian officials it is considering building a smaller car in the proposed new factory than its current models, which would be priced at less than $30,000 (£23,675). It could then sell the model in India and export to south-east Asia, the Gulf, Africa, and southern and eastern Europe, reported the Financial Times.

Tesla is developing a cheaper vehicle, “Model 2”, to go on sale late next year, but has not yet said where the car will be manufactured.

India last month lowered import taxes on certain EVs produced by automakers that commit to invest at least $500 million and start domestic manufacturing within three years, reported Reuters.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the Indian electric vehicle market is projected to grow significantly, with estimates suggesting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 66.52% from 2022 to 2029.

Earlier this year in January, Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast signed an agreement to set up its first manufacturing facilities in India. VinFast and the state of Tamil Nadu agreed to work toward an investment of up to $2 billion, with an intended commitment of $500 million for the first five years of the project, reported PTI.

More For You

OpenAI Restricts ChatGPT’s Image Feature After Viral Ghibli Trend

Altman addressed the impact of the popular Ghibli-style image trend on OpenAI’s resources

Getty

OpenAI limits ChatGPT’s image generation feature amid viral Ghibli image trend

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has announced temporary limitations on the company’s image generation feature in response to overwhelming demand driven by a viral trend. On Thursday, Altman addressed the impact of the popular Ghibli-style image trend on OpenAI’s resources, particularly its reliance on GPUs (graphics processing units). Altman revealed that the surge in demand for ChatGPT’s image generation tool has led to significant strain on the company’s infrastructure, prompting the introduction of temporary speed limits for users.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Altman shared the company’s response to the unexpected demand, stating, “It’s super fun seeing people love images in ChatGPT, but our GPUs are melting. We are going to temporarily introduce some rate limits while we work on making it more efficient. Hopefully won’t be long! ChatGPT free tier will get 3 generations per day soon.”

Keep ReadingShow less
UK-business-district-Getty
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London. (Photo: Getty Images)

Economic growth in 2024 slightly higher than estimated: ONS

THE UK economy grew slightly more than first estimated in 2024, according to official data released on Friday, providing a small boost for the government after it revised down its growth forecast for 2025.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product expanded by 1.1 per cent in 2024, up from an initial estimate of 0.9 per cent.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sri Lanka posts five per cent GDP growth as it ends years of economic decline

Sri Lanka's president Anura Kumara Dissanayake

Sri Lanka posts five per cent GDP growth as it ends years of economic decline

CASH-STRAPPED Sri Lanka’s economy grew by five per cent in 2024, marking the first full year of expansion since its unprecedented meltdown in 2022, official data showed last Tuesday (18).

The last quarter of 2024 saw the economy expand by 5.4 per cent, bringing the full calendar year’s GDP growth to five per cent, compared to a contraction of 2.3 per cent in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said, 'What we’re going to be doing is a 25 per cent tariff on all cars that are not made in the US.'

Getty Images

Trump imposes 25 per cent tariffs on foreign-built cars

US president Donald Trump has announced a 25 per cent tariff on imported cars and auto parts, escalating trade tensions with key partners.

The new duties take effect on 3 April and apply to foreign-made cars and light trucks, with additional levies on key auto parts set to follow within the month.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-Trump-Getty

The UK is negotiating a tech-focused trade deal with the US, which could help avoid direct tariff impacts.

Getty Images

UK economy faces pressure from Trump’s tariff threats

THE UK’s economy faces a major risk from US president Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs, the country’s fiscal watchdog warned on Wednesday, citing slow growth and a high debt burden as key vulnerabilities.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced cuts to the welfare budget and other spending reductions to meet a key fiscal target aimed at reassuring investors after the 2022 market turmoil under former prime minister Liz Truss.

Keep ReadingShow less