The equipment that SpaceX might be looking to manufacture locally in the country includes antenna systems and user terminal devices
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has plans to collaborate with Indian companies in order to locally manufacture satellite communications equipment in the country. The company, at the moment, is preparing to launch its high-speed Starlink satellite broadband service in India. It is expected that SpaceX will introduce the service early next year.
“SpaceX is excited to find ways to work together with the Indian industry for manufacturing products for its Starlink devices,” The Economic Times Quoted Matt Botwin, director (market access with the Starlink program.
The equipment that SpaceX might be looking to manufacture locally in the country includes antenna systems and user terminal devices. SpaceX has already started taking pre-orders for its beta version of the Starlink satellite internet service in India for a refundable deposit of around Rs 7,000.
Another company headed by Elon Musk
Tesla, one of the giants in the electric vehicle industry, has already started its operations in the country. Several spy shots of Tesla cars being tested on the Indian roads have surfaced online during last two months.
The company had registered its Indian entity in the name of Tesla India Motors And Energy Private Limited in Bengaluru Karnataka, according to documents filed in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). Tesla has incorporated itself with an authorised capital of Rs 15 lakh and a paid-up capital of Rs one lakh. Vaibhav Taneja, Venkatrangam Sreeram, and David Jon Feinstein were appointed as the three directors of the new company.
Transport Minister of India, in an interaction with the Reuters, had said that the government of India will ensure that the production cost for Tesla is lower than that of China if the electric cars giant manufactures electric vehicles in India. India, at the moment does not have a comprehensive EV policy in place.
Gadkari, mentioning that with 80 per cent of the lithium-ion cells being made in India, the country can also be a major market for USA-based Tesla. It is to be noted here that Tesla has recently setup its first office in India. The company has also received invitations from several state governments to set up a manufacturing facility.
