Best of BS Opinion: Tesla's India dream, Germany's shift, and AI bubble

Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

You know that feeling — when you’re deep in a dream, dreaming vividly of something real, something close, only for your hand to stretch out in reality, but to wake up and realise it was never really there? The dream dissolves into the darkness, leaving behind a restless awareness of what could have been. Some things feel within reach but remain elusive. That moment of dissonance, when your mind lingers in one world while reality reclaims its hold, feels eerily familiar in today’s landscape. 

Take Tesla. After years of will-they-won’t-they speculation, Elon Musk’s EV giant is finally stepping into India — lured by lowered tariffs and the promise of a booming market. But here’s the rub: India’s EV penetration is still a modest 2.3 per cent, and Tesla’s price keeps it firmly in the luxury niche, explores our first editorial. And if Trump, with his America-first stance, decides he doesn’t like Tesla’s India play, the dream could slip through Musk’s fingers before it fully takes shape. 

Germany, too, is waking to an unfamiliar reality. Friedrich Merz of the centre-right CDU is set to become Chancellor after snap elections, but the far-right AfD’s 21 per cent vote share ensures its influence. Merz promises tighter immigration controls and economic reform, but Germany’s industrial backbone is strained, highlights our second editorial. Will his vision materialise, or will resistance from within his own country? 

Meanwhile, US markets are riding an AI-fueled high. Akash Prakash dissects the debate — are we in a bubble? Bears warn of over-investment and extreme valuations, while bulls argue that AI-driven productivity will sustain growth. Whether this is another 1999 moment or a new era of tech dominance remains to be seen. The dream is exhilarating, but reality has a habit of intruding when least expected. 

Speaking of reality checks, Trump’s trade policies could soon force one onto India. Sonal Varma examines how Trump’s trade war could hit India. Higher tariffs on steel, pharma, and semiconductors may squeeze exports, while trade imbalances could put India on Washington’s radar. Yet, as the US pulls back from China, India has an opportunity — if it plays its cards right. The world is shifting, and the question is: will India wake up to an opportunity, or be jolted into a defensive scramble? 

And in the review of The Conscience of the Party-Hu Yaobang, China’s Communist Reformer by Robert L. Suettinger, Shyam Saran revisits Hu Yaobang, the reformist leader who laid the foundation for China’s private sector before being sidelined. 

Stay tuned, and remember, some of the dreams may fade, but others, with the right timing and persistence, might just make the leap into reality!