Electric car maker Tesla Inc is in talks with the Karnataka government department of industries to establish a hub in Bengaluru to tap into the vast research and development (R&D) ecosystem in India’s tech capital.
“The first proposal is for an R&D center and we have already had at least two rounds of discussions,” said a department official, who asked not to be named.
Economic times first reported this story on Monday.
The development would bring one of the world’s largest electric car manufacturers to Karnataka and increase the image of the state with a high-profile, newsworthy investor marking its presence in a city that is already known as an R&D hub for industries. as well as aviation, biotechnology and information technology.
Bengaluru is home to several other large R&D centers, including General Electric’s first and largest global laboratory outside the US, The John F. Welch Technology Center (JFWTC), IBM, Samsung and around 400 more. .
The talks to establish an R&D center come a year after Tesla boss Elon Musk expressed his intention to have a presence in India, although he had previously blamed the restrictive policy that delayed entry to the fourth market of largest automobile in the world.
India’s Tesla chief and Karnataka’s industry commissioner are expected to meet again later this month, the aforementioned official said.
IKEA, the Swedish furniture retail giant of the Ingka Group, had said last week that it would open a new global office in Bengaluru to operate within the Global Business Operations (GBO), Digital and Experience Centers (CoE) areas.
Karnataka, like its counterparts, is actively seeking new investment to boost the fledgling economy that was delayed due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown.
Karnataka has even created a task force just to go after companies looking to relocate from China after the pandemic.
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