Tesla planning to bring in smaller batteries for its India car: Report

In a bid to reduce the price of its proposed most affordable car in India, Elon Musk-led Tesla is planning to bring in smaller fast-charging batteries and it has conveyed the same to the Centre, Mint reported on Friday.

These smaller batteries are already being used by the company in China and could be key for Tesla to reduce the cost of the car it has proposed to bring to India. Currently, the price of its most affordable car in India, Model 3, starts from around Rs 33 lakh. It is reportedly conceptualising a car which may be priced at around Rs 20 lakh.

Notably, batteries are the biggest chunk of the cost of an electric vehicle (EV).

The report added that Tesla is also exploring technologies that will reduce charging time, even with the fast charging currently available in India. In June last year, reports suggested that the company is engaging with Israeli startup StoreDot to examine "extreme" fast-charging battery technology.

However, experts in the Mint report suggested that smaller batteries require customers to get used to frequent charging. It also needs a wide public network of fast chargers and current infrastructure in India may be inadequate. The country currently has 9,300 public chargers, much lower than 138,000 in the USA.

Tesla has committed to invest up to $2 billion in India for setting up its factory. However, it has asked for a concessional duty of 15 per cent on imported cars for the first two years of the factory's operations. Currently, the duties are in the range of 70-100 per cent.

The Centre has been engaging with the company in discussions around its entry into India.