Who Are Tesla India’s New Directors?

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Tesla India is happening! Tesla just registered a new company in India called Tesla Motors India and Energy Private Limited. The new company was incorporated on January 8. Its registered office is in Bengaluru, which is known for being a hub for global tech companies. Tesla India, as it is being called online, has three directors. MoneyControl explored who these new directors are.

Yes , we did our sleuthing. One of the Directors DAVID JON FEINSTEIN is Global Senior Director at Tesla pic.twitter.com/ACrZFu0xaC

— Tesla Club India® (@TeslaClubIN) January 12, 2021

Two of the new directors are senior Tesla executives, and the third is a serial entrepreneur based in the capital of Karnataka who has also had a connection to Tesla, according to the article.

Vaibhav Taneja

Vaibhav Taneja is Tesla’s Chief Accounting Officer. Taneja, a commerce graduate from Delhi University, joined Tesla in 2017 after working at SolarCity for a year. Before working at SolarCity and Tesla, he worked at PriceWaterhouseCoopers for almost 17 years.

David Jon Feinstein

David Jon Feinstein is the Global Senior Director for Trade Market Access at Tesla. Both Feinstein and Taneja are on the board of other Tesla units, such as Slovenia, but the article pointed out that very little is known about Feinstein.

Teslarati noted that Feinstein has been with Tesla for 8 years and started as the Manager of Global Trade Compliance for its supply change. His biggest project now is helping to set Tesla up for success in India. Considering that India has one of the heaviest import taxes in the world — making it impractical for Tesla to enter up until now — Feinstein’s experience in global trade is certainly very important for Tesla’s work and prospects in India.

Venkatrangam Sreeram

Venkatrangam Sreeram, who is also known as Venkat Sreeram, has many hats. He’s the cofounder of ClearQuote, which is an AI firm. He’s also the managing director of Xenon Automotive, a dealer management firm, and also cofounded Cartesian, which is a startup that specializes in car services. Needless to say, Sreeram has a love for cars. He’s also a former project manager at Tesla in its China office.

The article cited his LinkedIn profile, which states that he’s a “Project manager involved in set up wholesale and retail operations in China.”

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How Tesla Will Impact India

The impact of Tesla on India will be far and wide, and it is heavily dependent on these three directors who are establishing Tesla there now. Tesla Club India’s Arun Bhat recently shared some thoughts for Tesla, Elon Musk, and inherently these directors to consider. I want to remind you at this point that the importance of Tesla in India isn’t just about cars, but is about helping India tackle its air pollution crisis.

As of October 2020, the State of Global Air Report noted that air pollution is the world’s 4th leading risk factor for early death. The report was published by the Health Effects Institute and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and it summarized that 4.5 million deaths in 2019 were linked to outdoor air pollution exposure. Both India and China continue to bear the highest burdens of disease — a sobering reminder that cars continue to worsen the air pollution problems every day of the year and result in premature deaths. And then there’s the whole climate crisis.

In another article I wrote, I pointed out the fact that Tesla’s 500,000 sales milestone was a breath of fresh air for a planet choking on toxic pollution. And I meant that — it’s just one breath of fresh air, and we’ve already inhaled and exhaled several times since that announcement.

In that article, I also touched upon a 2019 study from the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), and University of Colorado at Boulder. This study stated that human beings are causing 7.8 million years of lost life per year from air pollution. Along with that unnerving and worrisome statement, they included a dollar value — around $1 trillion in 2015 in health damages worldwide. Air pollution may be something we are accustomed to, but it is not something small and not something we should accept.

As you read this and think of the gentlemen who are the new directors of Tesla India, one thing to note is that these directors are pioneers of clean energy in India. The success of Tesla and other companies like it that specialize in goods and services that focus on sustainability are critical, and we should keep that overarching purpose in mind.