'We're Still Around': Anand Mahindra Confident After Tesla Signals India Entry

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. chairperson Anand Mahindra sounded confident after a user on social media asked him about the impact of American electric vehicle major Tesla Inc.'s likely entry into the Indian market.

Elon Musk-led Tesla signalled its India entry plans on Monday via job openings advertised on social media platform, LinkedIn. The company sought candidates for 13 roles in India.

On X — the social media platform owned by Musk — a user asked Anand Mahindra, "How would you handle the competition" if Tesla enters the Indian market. In response, the Mahindra Group chairman said such questions have cropped up ever since liberalisation of the Indian economy.

"We have been asked similar questions ever since the opening up of the Indian economy in 1991," he said.

"But we’re still around. And working like maniacs to still be around and relevant even a century from now (sic)," the billionaire further tweeted.

Anand Mahindra, in another X post, pointed out how he expressed support for Musk when the Tesla founder was going through a tough period in 2018. Back then, Musk had discussed with The New York Times about an exhausting and "excruciating" year.

At that time, Mahindra had tweeted: "Hang in there @elonmusk. Your factory is now humming at a brisk clip. The world needs inspirational innovators like you."

Notably, Mahindra, in a 2017 tweet, had invited Musk to the Indian EV market. "Time you got out here, Elon. You don't want to leave that whole market to Mahindra do you?? The more the merrier — and greener..! (sic)," he had posted.

Tesla's job openings in India come less than a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with Musk during his official visit to the United States.

Despite weighing India entry plans over the past several years, Musk has stayed away amid concerns over high import duty. However, in the recently presented Union Budget for financial year 2025-26, India lowered the import duty on high-end cars from 110% to 70%.

Tesla's potential entry into India comes at a time when its sales have started to decline in neighbouring China. India's EV market, though, is still at a nascent stage with sales of around 100,000 units last year as compared to 1.1 crore units sold in China.