Tesla To Set Up Electric Car Factory In Poverty-Stricken India

India might be the country with the highest population living in poverty, but this has not deterred the very driven and ambitious Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, from pumping investments into its economy.

Tesla, the world’s best selling electric passenger car, has revealed plans to set up a manufacturing unit in the south-western state of Karnataka, India.

In a brief statement shared on Saturday, the Chief Minister of the state, BS Yediyurappa said,

“American firm Tesla will open an electric car manufacturing unit in Karnataka. “

The establishment in Karnataka is a targeted move in fulfilment of the state’s allocation in the 2021 Union Budget Of Union, in which the government had promised residents substantial investments from corporate International firms to improve their way of life.

White Elephant Project?

Although India has been disreputably tussling the unwanted ‘poverty capital’ crown with African giants, Nigeria, the investment is no ill-advised move from Tesla.

India currently boast one of the fastest growing economies in the world, channelling its resources into positively transforming the country since the turn of the last decade.

The Asian country, which had a large chunk of its population living in black-outs from a lack of electricity at the beginning of the 2010s, now sit third in the world for electricity production and consumption as at February 2021.

In addition, the high population of citizens earning below the standard income of $1.9 doesn’t really tell the true story regarding the countries economic situation.

India sits as the fifth richest nation in the world, in terms of nominal GDP,  and their high poverty population only stems from an unequal distribution of wealth with the top 1% of the population earning 58% of the nation’s total wealth, the second lowest in the world.

A Research and Development Centre for the company is very likely to be stationed in the city of Bengaluru, according to a tweet by the state’s CM which has since been deleted.

Before settling in Karnataka, India and Tesla jointly contemplated establishing a unit in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, or Maharashtra.