Tesla re-starts recruitment process for India days after Musk's meeting with PM Modi

Tesla re-starts recruitment process for India days after Musk's meeting with PM Modi

US electric carmaker Tesla Inc has re-started recruitment process for India days after CEO Elon Musk's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington DC.

On LinkedIn, Tesla advertised for 13 job positions for India, including service advisor, store manager, customer support specialist, service manager and service technician. The other positions are order operations specialist, inside sales advisor, consumer engagement manager, Tesla advisor, business operations analyst, delivery operations specialist, parts advisor, customer support supervisor.

CNBC-TV18 reported on February 18, citing sources, that the electric car maker is considering starting retail sales operations in India this year and could bring its low cost model to India this year.

At least five of the positions, including service technician and various advisory roles, were available in both Mumbai and Delhi, while the rest of the openings, such as customer engagement manager and delivery operations specialist, were for Mumbai.

Last week, PM Modi discussed opportunities in space, mobility, technology, energy and exchanged notes on efforts at good governance in India and the US with Musk.

US President Donald Trump chose Musk to head a new US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last month.

Modi was in the US capital for a bilateral meeting with President Trump.

“Had a very good meeting with @elonmusk in Washington DC. We discussed various issues, including those he is passionate about such as space, mobility, technology and innovation,” Modi said in a post on X.

“I talked about India’s efforts towards reform and furthering ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’,” he added.

Tesla and India have engaged on-and-off for years, but the carmaker had stayed away from India over concerns on high import duties. Last year, Bloomberg reported that Tesla has capital issues and doesn’t plan on pledging fresh investment into India in the near future.

The loss of interest in India came as Tesla reported a second consecutive drop in quarterly deliveries globally and faces heightened competition in China.

Musk in April 2024 scrapped a planned visit to India that would have included a meeting with Modi, citing pressing issues at the company.

He had originally announced his visit just weeks after India lowered the import taxes on EVs from foreign carmakers that pledge to invest at least Rs 4,150 crore and start EV production from a local factory within three years.auto