Tesla mulls small, fast EV batteries for India drive

Elon Musk-led Tesla is exploring fast-charging small batteries to cut the cost of its proposed most affordable car to help crack the price-sensitive Indian market, people aware of the matter said.

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Such batteries are already in use in China, and Tesla conveyed to the Indian government that it could look at bringing the technology for its cars in India.

However, a wide public network of fast chargers would be crucial for Tesla to convince customers to buy vehicles with a smaller battery and, thus, lower range per charge. In a recent interaction with the government, the company's executives requested help in developing such a network, the people cited above said. It has also sought support in the making of the batteries.

Tesla did not respond to Mint's request for comment.