Donald Trump criticized India's tariffs during an interview with Elon Musk, calling them unfair. Musk supported this, highlighting a 100 percent import duty on cars.
U.S. President Donald Trump said it was “very unfair” for Elon Musk's Tesla to set up a factory in India while he moves to increase tariffs significantly.
The comment, made during Trump's interview with Musk and Fox News presenter Sean Hannity, comes days after the Tesla CEO met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter’s U.S. visit.
Trump reiterated his claims about India’s high tariffs, a point reinforced by Musk, Tesla’s owner and the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The interview, recorded earlier, was broadcast on Tuesday night Eastern Time (Wednesday morning IST).
Reiterating his claim that “every country” took advantage of the U.S. with tariffs, Trump cited India’s tariffs on cars as an example.
Turning to Musk, he said, “It’s impossible for him to sell a car, practically, in, as an example, India. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I think…” Musk immediately intervened, completing Trump’s sentence: “The tariffs are like 100 percent import duty.”
In India, the import duty on EVs costing at least $35,000 is 15 percent, subject to conditions.
Trump added that if Musk wanted to build a factory in India, that was “okay” but also “unfair” to the U.S. “That’s unfair to us. It’s very unfair,” he said.
He further stated, “I told Prime Minister Modi… Here’s what you do. We are going to… be very fair with you.”
Before he could complete his thought, the interviewer asked whether India's tariffs were 36 percent. Trump responded, “Much, much higher.” Musk added, “It’s 100 percent on auto imports… 100 percent.”
Musk agreed with Trump, saying, “It needs to be at a level playing field and fair and square.”
Trump then claimed they would now “make a lot of money” and that “a lot of businesses” would pour in.
Tesla has already identified locations for showrooms in New Delhi and Mumbai and has opened 13 mid-level posts in India, according to Reuters.
While Tesla’s presence in India has been limited due to high tariffs, the country recently reduced the basic customs duty on high-end cars priced above $40,000 from 110 percent to 70 percent.
Source: Hindustan Times
Bd-pratidin English/Fariha Nowshin Chinika
