'With you cheering us on': Anand Mahindra reveals how he will take on Musk's Tesla
"We have been asked similar questions ever since the opening up of the Indian economy in 1991....But we're still around," said the chairman of automobile giant
Anand Mahindra, the chairperson of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, on Tuesday (February 17) took to social media to share his views on how his company could handle competition from Elon Musk's Tesla which may enter the Indian market soon.
Electric Vehicle (EV) giant Tesla on Monday announced 13 India-based job openings on LinkedIn, hinting it may enter the market. The Tesla move came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Musk in the US along with President Donald Trump last week.
Also read: Tesla begins hiring for 13 roles in India after Modi's meeting with Musk in US
‘Will make that happen’
Anand Mahindra responded to Tesla query after a user on social media platform X asked him as to how he would handle the ensuing competition.
“We have been asked similar questions ever since the opening up of the Indian economy in 1991,” Anand Mahindra wrote in response.
He said the only difference is that earlier it was about how Mahindra would compete against companies like Tata, Maruti and MNCs. “But we’re still around,” added Mahindra. “And working like maniacs to still be around & relevant even a century from now.” He signed off on an optimistic note, saying that “with you cheering us on, we will make that happen…”
Lauded on social media
Social media users commended his positive attitude towards growing competition from Tesla. A user wrote, “Competition drives innovation, and no one innovates like India!” Another added, “I think India has a lot of untapped potential. More competition means more opportunities. Also, more options for consumers.”
Interestingly, Mahindra has just launched its two new EVs – BE 6 and XEV 9e. Both of them have garnered some handsome bookings. According to Mahindra, the two EVs cumulatively received 30,179 bookings on day one. Their collective booking value is Rs 8,472 crore at the ex-showroom price.
The electric car segment is still at a nascent stage in India. The electric car sales stood at 99,165 units in India in 2024, according to data from the industry body Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). Their contribution to the overall car sales in 2024 was merely 2.4%.
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Tesla’s job openings
Out of the 13 job openings that Tesla has announced, at least five, including that of service technician as well as various advisory roles were available in both Mumbai and Delhi, while the rest of the openings like that of customer engagement manager and delivery operations specialist, were for Mumbai.
Tesla had recorded its first ever year of dropping sales in about a decade in 2023. Though India's EV space is fairly nascent at the moment, its entry is a bid to provide the company the boost it needs to regain the dropping demand.
