Tesla’s India Head Resigns As Musk’s Company Prepares For Country Launch: Report

Tesla’s China teams will oversee the Elon Musk-led firm’s India operations, with no immediate successor named, the report said, citing unnamed sources.

Tesla has for years planned an India market entry (Representational Image)

Tesla’s country head for India has resigned after nine years at the company and ahead of the U.S. EV maker’s planned entry into the world’s third-largest car market, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Tesla’s China teams will oversee the Elon Musk-led firm’s India operations, with no immediate successor named, the report said, citing unnamed sources.

Prashanth Menon is also stepping down as the chairman of Tesla India’s board, the report said.

Tesla, which has for years planned an India market entry, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

India is working on a trade deal with the US that includes lower auto tariffs, a potential win for Tesla, which has secured showroom locations to begin selling imported cars in the country this year.

The company has posted close to two dozen mid-level jobs in India, including store, service and customer relationship managers, signaling progress in its plans to launch in the country.

Elon Musk-owned X blocks 8,000 accounts after India’s request

“X has received executive orders from Indian government requiring X to block over 8,000 accounts in India, subject to potential penalties,” the platform said.

Elon Musk owned X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday said that India has asked it to block 8,000 accounts on the social media platform. The announcement comes amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack, which resulted in the death of 26.

“X has received executive orders from the Indian government requiring X to block over 8,000 accounts in India, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment of the company’s local employees. The orders include demands to block access in India to accounts belonging to international news organizations and prominent X users,” X said in a statement.

While the micro blogging site confirmed it would comply by restricting access to the listed accounts within India, ‘X’ said that it is “not an easy decision”. The platform highlighted the need to maintain its services in India. “Keeping the platform accessible in India is vital to Indians’ ability to access information.”

X further expressed concerns over legal limitations that prevent the publication of the executive orders. “We believe that making these executive orders public is essential for transparency – lack of disclosure discourages accountability and can contribute to arbitrary decision making,” it said.

India bans Pakistani YouTube channels, public fugures

Earlier also the Indian government had banned over a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels, including several news outlets, citing them of spreading “provocative” content, as tensions between India and Pakistan escalate following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam.

Access to the Instagram account of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan has also been restricted in India.

Several prominent Pakistani public figures, including actors Fawad Khan and Atif Aslam, and cricketers such as Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shahid Afridi, and Wasim Akram, have been blocked or blacklisted across Indian platforms.

The crackdown comes amid a surge of misinformation online after India’s Operation Sindoor, with social media users widely sharing manipulated or outdated visuals, including deepfake videos, falsely attributed to recent cross-border developments.