Elon Musk’s Tesla exploring land in Maharashtra's Satara to establish EV assembly plant

Elon Musk's Tesla is in search of land parcels in Maharashtra's Satara to set up a completely knocked down (CKD) assembly unit for electric vehicles, as reported by Business Standard.

Tesla to form CKD unit

Tesla had earlier held discussions with Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering for a joint venture, but the talks didn't materialise, the report cited sources as saying.

The EV maker next discussed with other Indian companies for a joint venture to form a CKD unit, the report added.

CKD assembly units refer to a business model where vehicles are shipped in various parts to a foreign country for assembly before sale.

This strategy is mainly aimed at reducing import duties.

Setting up such a unit would be a big move from Tesla as it readies to enter the Indian market later this year.

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Tesla's Mumbai showroom

Reuters reported in March that Tesla signed a deal to open its first India showroom in Mumbai to sell imported EVs.

Elon Musk's EV company signed a five-year lease and will pay a rent of about $446,000 for the first year for a 4,003 square foot (372 square meter) space, almost the size of a basketball court, as per the report.

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