American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has lost three senior executives at its India offices.
First reported by Economic Times, the company has lost three members from the original 12-member team since country policy head Manoj Khurana left in June. They are head of charging Nishant, legal head Nitika Chhabra, and sales executive Ankit Kesarwani.
This report has not been independently verified by YourStory.
According to a source who talked to ET, these departures signal a waning interest in the Indian market. However, the company is yet to give up its offices and registered entities; it promoted HR head Chithra Thomas to additional director of the company. This happened after Prashanth Menon, the director heading the Indian market, took a position outside the country.
The company was incorporated in Bengaluru on January 8, 2021 with hopes of launching its cars within six months.
Tesla’s plans for India have been hit by the government’s stance on import duties for electric vehicles (EVs). At the moment, India charges 60% duty on EVs priced under $40,000 (~Rs 35.85 lakh) and 100% duty on those priced above $40,000.
With these taxes, even Tesla’s most affordable Model 3 would be priced around Rs 60 lakh to 70 lakh, while premium models such as Model S or Model X would be above Rs 1.5 crore.
