’Tesla’s loss, not India’s’: Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal on Elon Musk’s Indian market pullback

Tesla’s pullback from the Indian market is a loss for the automotive company and not for India, Ola founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said on Friday.

He said that the Indian EV and lithium industries are growing rapidly, and it would be too late for Tesla to enter the market.

“If true, this is Tesla’s loss, not India’s. While the Indian EV and Lithium ecosystem is early, we’re gaining momentum quickly. It’ll be too late for Tesla when they look at India seriously again in a few years,” Bhavish Agarwal posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Bloomberg reported that Tesla has not followed up on inquiries with officials in New Delhi; hence, the country does not expect the EV maker to invest in India.

The pullback comes weeks after Musk postponed his visit to India.

The Bloomberg report said the government is aware of Tesla's financial issues, adding that the EV maker has no plans to invest fresh funds in India.

According to the Bloomberg report, Tesla and officials from the Union Ministry of Heavy Industries did not elicit a response to queries.

The international EV maker posted a second consecutive drop in global deliveries this quarter and faces increasing competition from China.

In April, Musk announced job cuts, the automaker sold its flagship Cybertruck stall, and the construction of its Mexico plant was delayed.

The government may now turn towards domestic players such as Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors to boost EV production in India, according to Bloomberg.

Ola, on the other hand, is one of India’s leading EV startups poised for its market debut.

In June 2024, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved Ola Electric's IPO, comprising a primary issuance of ₹5,500 crore and a secondary sale of ₹1,750 crore. This approval marks Ola Electric as the first EV startup to receive such clearance from the market regulator.