Elon Musk
Elon Musk, well, every child must know of him, is an American-based entrepreneur and the CEO of the giant electric vehicles company Tesla, SpaceX, a spacecraft manufacturing company, and The Boring Company which focuses on the construction of the infrastructures for buildings.
Out of this vast introduction, Elon Musk is best known for the electric car company Tesla in Asian countries such as Pakistan and India.
Tesla in Pakistan
Among the Asian countries, Tesla has established its plants in China and started importing its cars. Tesla performed well in China. The firm generated 29 percent of total sales for the time in 2020. After China, Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla Cars will be imported to India as well. The recent news said that Tesla is looking for making its manufacturing plants in Bangalore, a city in India.
After the recent events, Pakistan shows its interest and persuaded Tesla to bring its EV cars to the Pakistani auto market. Several attempts have been made through Twitter and physical meetings with the Tesla authorities.
Fawad Chaudhry invitation to Elon Musk
On January 5, 2020, Pakistan’s federal minister for Science and Technology, Fawad Chaudhry, wrote on Twitter replying to the tweet of Al Arabiya English which made an announcement that Tesla is going to build half a million electric vehicles a year at its future factory outside Berlin. He tagged Elon Musk and wrote as:
“Dear Elon Musk, your next destination may be Pakistan where 68 percent of the world population lives within 3.5 hours flight radius from Islamabad. We offer ten years zero tax facility and custom free import for factory setup, no other country may offer, plus we are worlds 3rd biggest freelance software exporters”.
This tweet was not just an invitation to Elon Musk for bringing Tesla to Pakistan, but the federal minister Fawad Chaudhry also offered huge incentives to Tesla as it is brought to Pakistan at first. After Tesla’s arrival in Pakistan, he said, the company would be offered a ten-year zero-tax facility as well as customs-free importation for the factory/plant setting. When viewed through the eyes of a business owner, this is rather an impressive contract.
In his tweet, Fawad Chaudhry also brought up something else by writing that “Pakistan is the world’s third-largest exporter of freelance software”. To put it another way, he mentioned to Elon Musk that Pakistan has a lot to give Tesla in terms of technology through its vast number of capable freelance workers. Tesla can validate this as Pakistan was ranked as the World’s fourth fastest expanding freelancing market by Forbes in 2019.
Javed Afridi tweet
The news of Tesla coming to Pakistan took its hype by the tweet of a popular Pakistani entrepreneur Javed Afridi who wrote an intriguing tweet on Jan 5, 2021.
It was:
“TESLA IN PAKISTAN!?”
Although, this tweet does not ensure anything when will Tesla be brought to Pakistan, but still, got the attention of the people in Pakistan interested in driving Tesla.
Future of Tesla in Pakistan
Tesla has initiated talks with the Pakistani authorities about joining the country’s market to extend its worldwide presence. Sabir Shakir, a well-known Pakistani TV personality, journalist, and writer, revealed this knowledge in his YouTube video. Shakir claimed that Javed Afridi, one of Pakistan’s most powerful businessmen and a major member of MG Pakistan, has already had a few meetings with the executives of Tesla.
Charging Stations established recently
As the number of electric vehicles in Pakistan grows, the country’s two major oil marketing companies (OMCs), Pakistan State Oil and Shell Pakistan, have already set up charging stations for the vehicles. PSO has constructed a Fast Electric Vehicle charger in Islamabad and plans to build three more charging stations this year at some major places all over the country.
Private investors have also entered the growing market, with three charging stations being established between Islamabad and Lahore.
Pakistan’s Tesla Industries has constructed two EV charging stations on the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway, one in Bhera and the other in Pindi Bhattian. EV chargers have been erected around the M-2 Motorway’s perimeter at former CNG stops. EV drivers may leave at Bhera junction, either coming from or heading to Islamabad and proceed to a CNG station to recharge their vehicles before returning to the highway. Likewise, commuters may charge their automobiles at Pindi Bhattian.
Tesla Industries, Pakistan, claims to have developed, produced and installed the electric vehicle charging stations. Another similar charging station has been constructed near Gujrat on GT Road.
As demand grows, Tesla Industries wants to add more chargers on GT Road and along the highway. On December 22, 2020, the federal cabinet adopted a comprehensive electric vehicle policy for four-wheelers, which includes a few incentives for EV importers, producers, and end-users.
According to a senior official with the Ministry of Industries, the Engineering Development Board oversees granting NOCs for duty-free charging equipment imports. In addition, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has the authority to implement EV rates and ensure that they comply with all applicable rules and specifications.
Conclusion
Late last year, the Pakistani government is said to have implemented a new electric car policy. A variety of perks and incentives have been offered for local electric vehicle (EV) investors and customers. Afridi was among those who campaigned for the use of electric cars in Pakistan.
Whether Elon Musk decides to build a Tesla plant in Pakistan or not remains to be determined, but the offer by Fawad Chaudhry is there and our country Pakistan would benefit from Tesla. In the following decade, we expect Tesla to develop its gigantic factories in Asian countries such as Pakistan. As, Pakistan’s economy is fast improving, which would most likely result in a variety of beneficial consequences, particularly for the country’s automotive sector.
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