Former US president Donald Trump has said it would be unfair to the US if Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, built a factory in India to bypass the country's tariffs.
Trump made the comments as he pushed for higher tariffs on imports.
Speaking to Fox News' Sean Hannity, Trump said he discussed the issue with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi during a meeting at the White House on 13 February. The same day, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on imports.
Trump claimed India imposes the highest tariffs in the world, making it difficult to sell American cars there. "Every country in the world takes advantage of us, and they do it with tariffs... It is impossible to sell a car, practically, in, as an example, India," he said.
"If he (Musk) built the factory in India, that's okay, but that's unfair to us. It's very unfair," Trump added.
Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency, was also present in the interview.
Recently, Tesla opened job postings for positions in India, including business operations analyst and customer support specialist.
The roles are listed for the ‘Mumbai Suburban’ area, signalling a possible entry into the Indian market.
During the interview, Trump reiterated his discussion with Modi on tariffs. "I told prime minister Modi… Here's what you do. We are going to… be very fair with you," he said.
When asked about India's tariffs on auto imports, Trump claimed they were “much, much higher” than 36 per cent. Musk added, "It's 100 per cent on — auto imports are 100 per cent."
Trump said he proposed a reciprocal tariff policy: “Whatever you charge, I'm charging.” He added that Modi disagreed, saying, “No, no, I don’t like that.”
Musk responded, "It seems fair."
(With inputs from PTI)
