Tesla may set up R&D centre in Karnataka

BENGALURU: US electric vehicle maker Tesla is in talks with the Karnataka government to set up a Research & Development (R&D) centre as well as their manufacturing bases in the state, said Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan during curtain raiser meet for the 23rd edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit. “We have reached out to Tesla for setting up a R&D centre in Bengaluru,” added Ashwathnarayan.

Tesla is one of the biggest customer-facing names in electric mobility and is yet to arrive in India in any capacity. CEO Elon Musk, however, had earlier already confirmed that the brand will initiate the process to launch in India in 2021 and is in talks with a host of state governments for investment plans ahead of its debut.

In October this year, a team of Tesla was also hosted by the Maharashtra government over a video call to encourage the American automaker to invest in the state. Maharashtra tourism and environment minister Aditya Thackery had then said that the state Industries Minister is in touch with the Tesla group for setting up their base in the state. Thackery had said that he was keen on inviting Tesla to Maharashtra not only because of the investment factor but also for his personal belief in electric mobility and sustainability. Tamil Nadu have also reportedly had talks with Tesla regarding investment plans in India.

The 23rd edition of BTS will be held between November 19 and 21. The event is expected to attract 4,000 delegates from 25 countries including 270 speakers with participation of Fortune 500 companies as well as the start-ups and MSMEs. According to top executives, the COVID-19 led push in tech and healthcare domains will be central to this year’s BTS showcasing innovations around health and wellness. 

“Covid-19 has rendered BTS 2020 into a virtual event. AI and Big Data are at the heart of our Biotech sessions. We have curated sessions that focus on cutting edge advances in the combined field of biological and computational sciences..., genomics, regenerative biology etc.,” said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, executive chairperson of Biocon and chairperson of Karnataka Vision Group on Biotechnology.