HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — In April 2016, Elon Musk invited Indians to preorder the upcoming Tesla Model 3. Vishal Gondal was one of the first to sign up, paying a $1,000 deposit for a car that never arrived.
The founder and CEO of a health-tech startup called GOQii in India’s financial capital Mumbai, Gondal wasn’t sure when the automaker would launch in India or how much the car would eventually cost. But the Elon Musk fan was excited about the Model 3 and willing to wait.
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HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — In April 2016, Elon Musk invited Indians to preorder the upcoming Tesla Model 3. Vishal Gondal was one of the first to sign up, paying a $1,000 deposit for a car that never arrived.
Hemant Suthar sits for a photograph at his residence in Mumbai, India, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Electric Vehicle charging stations are seen a residential building parking area in Mumbai, India, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
A car gets charged at an Electric Vehicle charging station at a residential building parking area in Mumbai, India, July 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
A car gets charged at the Electric Vehicle charging station at a residential building parking area in Mumbai, India, July 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Electric Vehicle charging stations are seen a residential building parking area in Mumbai, India, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
In the eight years since Tesla’s initial promise to sell cars in India, other automakers have launched their own EVs. But the American automaker has failed to follow through, apparently because of concerns that taxes would make the cars too expensive in India, combined with the difficulties of building an Indian factory if it decided to shift production away from China.
After six years without a Tesla or a clear explanation about the company's plans for India, Gondal bought an electric SUV made by German automaker Audi. He got his $1,000 back in January 2023 with the help of a friend who helped him track down a Tesla sales manager in India.
India is the world's third-largest auto market after China and the United States. But it's unique. The average price of cars sold in India in 2023 was $14,000, compared with $47,000 in the United States. An American can buy a new Tesla 3 for about $40,000. That's the price of a luxury car in India, and buyers would demand excellent after-sales service.
“I think Tesla may be a great tech company. But they just don’t know how to sell luxury cars,” Gondal said.
Since then, other automakers who have been selling luxury cars in India have also started selling EVs. Hemant Suthar, a Mumbai-based director of a design studio who had also prebooked a Tesla in 2016 before finally getting his money back in 2023, said that he didn’t think the minimalistic Tesla could compete with some of the more luxurious EVs now on Indian roads.
To woo automakers like Tesla while also protecting domestic carmakers like Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki, India reduced its import duties to 15% from 70%-100% in March 2024 for EVs cheaper than $35,000 — as long the automaker commits to building a factory in the country within three years.
Despite his earlier enthusiasm, in 2019 Musk expressed concern that import duties could double prices of Teslas made in India, making them “unaffordable.” Many in India expected Musk to announce plans for a factory there in April, but he canceled an expected trip at the last minute, citing “very heavy Tesla obligations.”
Tesla didn't respond to an emailed request for comment.
The EV market has changed drastically in India and elsewhere in the past five years and Tesla's own position has evolved since it built giant factories in China, Germany and the U.S. Sales are slowing and its only new product, the Cybertruck EV, lacks much of a market outside the U.S., so global sales have fallen year over year for two straight quarters.
According to a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, it can build 2.3 million cars annually. Production in 2023 grew by 35% to 1.85 million cars. In the first half of 2024, Tesla sold 831,000 vehicles worldwide, far short of the more than 1.8 million for the full year that Musk had forecast.
The novelty of EVs has been wearing off, said Tu Le, founder of the consultancy Sino Auto Insights.
“What was a huge opportunity five years ago is now almost a weight around their neck,” he said.
To keep a leading position among global automakers, Tesla needs new, more affordable cars for emerging markets like India, Tu said. Even a car priced at $25,000 is not competitive in China given the dominance of Chinese EV makers like BYD. They're expanding overseas with both cheap and premium cars, wiping out Tesla's first-mover advantage in a place like India.
“Every market they (Tesla) enter from now on, BYD is going to be looking at their watch and saying: What took you so long?” Tu said.
India's growing auto market is dominated by its largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki, followed by South Korea's Hyundai Motors and India's Tata Motors. Electric vehicle sales doubled in 2023 but still made up just 2% of total car sales, according to market research firm Counterpoint Research. Of this, Tata Motors held more than two-thirds of the market, with Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra and China's BYD shares growing.
BYD started making batteries in India in 2008. It was one of the top five EV brands in India in 2023 despite selling only two models — the six-seater e6 MPV and the Atto 3 SUV, Counterpoint said. It launched the BYD Seal in India in March 2024.
Many in India, a relatively small and crowded EV market, are skeptical about EVs. Ishan Raghav, the managing editor of the Indian car magazine autoX, said that to win over customers with an affordable EV for mass sales, Tesla would need to price its cars at a “sweet spot” of roughly $30,000.
“The only way to do that is if they build that car in India,” he said.
India says it does not restrict imports of Chinese EVs. But ties between China and India deteriorated after a military clash in July 2020, Raghav noted, and protections for domestic automakers will create other obstacles.
Even if Tesla were to sell cars in India after agreeing to build a factory within three years, most imported Teslas would sell for what luxury cars made by established players like Mercedes Benz and Audi cost. Those automakers have been in India for decades and already have extensive dealership and service networks.
Tesla has sold cars directly to American customers, but dealerships play a vital role in enticing customers with a luxury experience, said Matthew Degen of Cox Automotive, an American car research company.
“You go into an actual location, you meet with people, there are nice lounges. Now Tesla has showrooms, but that is different from dealerships,” he said.
Tesla also would also have to build a charging network in India, given the relatively small number of EVs already in the market.
Musk said in a July earnings conference call that Tesla is boosting capacity at its factories and that its affordable car — a small model expected to cost around $25,000 using new generation vehicle underpinnings and some features of current Tesla models — was “on track” for delivery in the first half of 2025.
The company's plans for India remain unclear.
Rajesh Kumar Singh, a federal bureaucrat who heads the Indian agency for promoting industrial growth, said in a TV interview that the Tesla executive who Indian officials had been talking with “got fired” and that India didn’t know what the company intended to do.
“We really don’t know,” he said.
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Hemant Suthar stands for a photograph beside his car in Mumbai, India, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Hemant Suthar sits for a photograph at his residence in Mumbai, India, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Electric Vehicle charging stations are seen a residential building parking area in Mumbai, India, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
A car gets charged at an Electric Vehicle charging station at a residential building parking area in Mumbai, India, July 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
A car gets charged at the Electric Vehicle charging station at a residential building parking area in Mumbai, India, July 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Electric Vehicle charging stations are seen a residential building parking area in Mumbai, India, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Kamala Harris pressed a forceful case against Donald Trump on Tuesday in their first and perhaps only debate before the presidential election, repeatedly goading him in an event that showcased their starkly different visions for the country on abortion, immigration and American democracy.
Less than two months from Election Day and hours before the first early ballots will begin to be mailed Wednesday in Alabama, the debate offered the clearest look yet at a presidential race that has been repeatedly upended.
Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
Here’s the latest:
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., a traditionally Black sorority, called Donald Trump’s comment that Vice President Kamala Harris attended a “sorority party” instead of attending a joint address to Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “disheartening” and “disrespectful” to the organization.
Harris attended the group’s “Boulé,” or membership meeting, in July just days after being endorsed by President Joe Biden to lead the Democratic ticket. She met separately with Netanyahu.
The sorority also noted that it “has joined forces with all Divine Nine organizations on an unprecedented voter mobilization effort.”
Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance briefly visited the trading floor of a brokerage company affiliated with Cantor Fitzgerald that raises funds in a one-day event in honor of 9/11 victims. Cantor Fitzgerald lost 658 employees in the World Trade Center attacks.
Vance jokingly said he watched the speech given by Jordan Belfort, who was played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” to prepare for this visit.
“I know what you all are doing,” he said. “And I know you’re working your asses off to make sure that you support the families of the people who died in these terrible attacks.”
The members of the firehouse bowed their heads to observe a moment of silence.
The former president posed for pictures with fire department staff in uniform standing before a sign a large Fire Department New York sign that said “Never Forget. Heroes.” He did his signature thumbs up and said “thank you.”
Among the people accompanying Trump in his visit were advisers Chris LaCivita, Susie Wiles, far-right activist Laura Loomer, who also traveled to Philadelphia with Trump for the debate and is known for promoting conspiracy theories. His sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. also joined the visit.
In a morning news briefing Wednesday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador didn’t comment on a number of false claims made by Trump about migrants, or calls for greater border security by both presidential candidates.
Rather, the populist leader, a friend of Trump, applauded the candidates for respecting Mexico in their debate.
“I was very pleased that Mrs. Kamala and President Trump both treated Mexico with respect and we are moving forward, respecting other sister nations and that they respect us as an independent and sovereign country,” López Obrador said.
It comes after López Obrador said he was putting relations with the U.S. Embassy “on pause” after Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar expressed democratic concerns about a judicial overhaul the Mexican leader’s party has jammed through.
With Biden, Trump, Harris and Vance all on hand for the New York Sept. 11 commemoration, aides had their work cut out to keep things running smoothly.
Biden’s team ran into one minor blip — keeping track of which motorcade belonged to which of the current, former and would-be presidents and vice presidents.
At one point, the small group of journalists traveling with Biden were led to Harris’ motorcade instead of the president’s. It took a few minutes, but White House aides were able to straighten things out and find their ride.
The German Foreign Office fired back at Trump’s allegation during Tuesday’s debate that the European country is now building “normal power plants.” The former president contended that Germany’s planned exit from fossil fuels had failed.
“Like it or not: Germany’s energy system is fully operational, with more than 50% renewables,” the foreign office wrote on social media platform X. “And we are shutting down – not building – coal & nuclear plants. Coal will be off the grid by 2038 at the latest. PS: We also don’t eat cats and dogs. #Debate2024”
Data released in March showed Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped by one-tenth last year as the use of coal and gas diminished. Germany aims to cut its emissions to net zero by 2045 and is working to ramp up the use of solar and wind power and other renewable sources.
The tweet’s post-script referenced a debunked rumor that Trump and his allies have spread online in recent days, alleging Haitian immigrants in an Ohio town are hunting and eating pets. Officials in Springfield, Ohio, say they have no evidence of that happening.
About 6 in 10 debate-watchers said Harris outperformed Trump in Tuesday’s presidential debate, while about 4 in 10 said Trump did a better job, according to a flash poll conducted by CNN, with Harris exceeding debate-watchers’ expectations. Before the debate, the same voters were evenly split on whether Trump or Harris would win.
The vast majority of debate watchers — who, importantly, do not reflect the views of the full voting public — also said, though, that the debate wouldn’t affect their vote. And perceptions of the two candidates remain largely unchanged. Views of Trump — whether positive or negative — didn’t shift meaningfully before and after the debate, while Harris received a slight bump in the share of people who view her favorably after the debate.
Similar to pre-debate polling, the poll found that Harris left the debate with higher trust in her ability to handle abortion and protecting democracy, while Trump maintained an advantage on the economy and immigration.
Officials including President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are gathered to mark the 23rd anniversary of the attacks in New York, Washington, and rural Pennsylvania.
It happened while they were standing near President Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance at the site of the 9/11 memorial where leaders are meeting to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of 9/11.
Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, walked across the stage to shake Trump’s hand before the presidential campaign debate began Tuesday evening in Philadelphia.
When President Joe Biden gave bumbling remarks about abortion on the debate stage this summer, it was widely viewed as a missed opportunity — a failure, even — on a powerful and motivating issue for Democrats at the ballot box.
The difference was stark, then, on Tuesday night, when Vice President Kamala Harris gave a forceful defense of abortion rights during her presidential debate with Republican Donald Trump.
Harris conveyed the dire medical situations women have found themselves in since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the national right to abortion in 2022. Harris quickly placed blamed directly on Trump, who recalibrated the Supreme Court to the conservative majority that issued the landmark ruling during his term.
Women, Harris told the national audience, have been denied care as a result.
“You want to talk about this is what people wanted? Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because health care providers are afraid they might go to jail and she’s bleeding out in a car in the parking lot?” Harris said.
The moment was a reminder that Harris is uniquely positioned to talk about the hot-button, national topic in a way that Biden, an 81-year-old Catholic who had long opposed abortion, never felt comfortable doing.
▶ Read more about Harris’ debate comments on abortion rights
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting and eating pets, repeating during a televised debate the type of inflammatory and anti-immigrant rhetoric he has promoted throughout his campaigns.
There is no evidence that Haitian immigrants in an Ohio community are doing that, officials say. But during the debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump specifically mentioned Springfield, Ohio, the town at the center of the claims, saying that immigrants were taking over the city.
“They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” he said.
Harris called Trump “extreme” and laughed after his comment. Debate moderators pointed out that city officials have said the claims are not true.
Trump’s comments echoed claims made by his campaign, including his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and other Republicans. The claims attracted attention this week when Vance posted on social media that his office has “received many inquiries” about Haitian migrants abducting pets. Vance acknowledged Tuesday it was possible “all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”
Officials have said there have been no credible or detailed reports about the claims, even as Trump and his allies use them to amplify racist stereotypes about Black and brown immigrants.
▶ Read more about Trump’s comments on Ohio immigrants
Taylor Swift, one of the music industry’s biggest stars, endorsed Kamala Harris for president shortly after the debate ended on Tuesday night.
“I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post, which included a link to a voter registration website.
Swift has a dedicated following among young women, a key demographic in the November election, and her latest tour has generated more than $1 billion in ticket sales. In a half hour, the post received more than 2.3 million likes.
She included a picture of herself holding her cat Benjamin Button, and she signed the message “Childless Cat Lady.” The remark is a reference to three-year-old comments made by JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, about women without children not having an equal stake in the country’s future.
▶ Read more about Swift’s endorsement
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a presidential debate with Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept.10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a presidential debate with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept.10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
This combination of photos shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris during an ABC News presidential debate at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
People watch the presidential debate between Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at the Gipsy Las Vegas in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
