Elon Musk's Tesla is looking to hire senior staff in India, job advertisements posted this week showed, signalling progress in the electric vehicle maker's plans to enter the world's third-biggest auto market.

Tesla and India have engaged on-and-off for years, but the carmaker had stayed away from the South Asian nation over concerns on high import duties.

Tesla Inc. has posted thirteen job openings in India, signaling its intent to enter the market after CEO Elon Musk met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Positions include customer-facing and back-end roles in Mumbai and Delhi.

Building a Tesla factory in India would be "unfair" to the US, Trump said in a joint interview with Musk this week.

Trump called out India's high duty on cars during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the U.S. last week, but agreed to work towards an early trade deal and resolve their standoff over tariffs. Tesla's CEO Elon Musk has long criticised India for having import tariffs of around 100% on EVs which protect local automakers such as Tata Motors in the world's third largest auto market,

Tesla’s plans to set up a factory in India have drawn criticism from US President Donald Trump, who claims the move is “unfair” to US interests. Amid concerns over trade imbalances and reciprocal tariffs,