Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
A businessman from Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has been duped of over Rs 1 crore by Tesla, not the automotive and clean energy firm owned by trillionaire Elon Musk, but a Gurugram-based company.
The case dates back to October 2021 when AP Enterprises, owned by Atul Narayan Paygavhan, entered into a partnership with Gurugram-based 'Tesla' to conduct business involving batteries, inverters, and solar panels across Maharashtra and Goa.
As part of this agreement, Paygavhan deposited Rs 1 crore as a security deposit, with an agreed-upon 6 per cent return and a 3.75 per cent commission on sales.
According to a First Information Report (FIR) filed by Paygavhan (51), the business operated smoothly for a year and half, with a warehouse established in Karodi village in Maharashtra. As sales declined, the partnership was dissolved mutually in December 2024 and Paygavhan returned unutilised stock to the company.
'Tesla' allegedly promised to return the security deposit, outstanding commissions, and the value of the returned stock, totalling Rs 1,22,12,848, by March 2025.
When the funds were not received by the agreed-upon deadline, the businessman filed a police complaint against 'Tesla' managing directors, Kavinder Khurana and Vritika Khurana.
The police suspect that in September 2023, the accused changed the company's name from "Tesla Power USA Inc." to "Tesla Power India Limited" ostensibly for tax exemption purposes. According to police, this was a calculated move to misappropriate the businessman's funds and evade legal liability.
(With inputs from Mohsin Sheikh)
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