Gary Zhou 
Tesla has hired three executives to handle several key aspects of the company’s branch in India. Tesla India could help the country grow even further as an automaker and establish an even more prominent global presence.
Manuj Khurana was hired to be the head of Tesla’s Policy and Development department. Nishant Nishant will be Tesla India’s Head of Charging Infrastructure, and Chithra Thomas will lead the local team’s HR department.
According to their LinkedIn profiles, Khurana and Nishant started working for Tesla India last month in March, while Thomas started in April. Based on their profiles Nishant and Thomas are located in Karnataka. Bengaluru is also in Karnataka, where Tesla is rumored to be setting up a manufacturing facility.
Tesla has made significant strides towards establishing a presence in India since the beginning of the year. India would be a big market for Tesla to cover. According to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the South Asian country displaced Germany as the fourth-largest auto market in 2019, and it is set to overtake Japan as the third-largest auto market this year. India’s auto market witnessed a 20% growth in EV sales in FY2020, excluding E-rickshaws. India seems like a good place for Tesla to grow further, following its developments in China and Berlin.
Legacy automakers have noticed India’s growing auto market, too, and several have either invested or plan to make investments and developments in the country. For instance, in 2020, Mercedes-Benz partnered with the State Bank of India to provide attractive interest rates to its expanding customer base. Hyundai Motor India invested $500 million in FY20 as well, hoping to increase its market share in India.
