As Tesla examines building a plant in India, officials have asked the company to emulate Apple in finding local firms to partner with any Chinese suppliers involved, according to three government sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Tesla has been in talks with India for weeks about setting up a factory which will potentially build a $24,000 car for local sales and exports, however strained India-China ties threaten to complicate Tesla's plans for bringing in Chinese suppliers. Tesla founder Elon Musk is seeking to expand beyond the company's biggest foreign base of China where regulatory approvals for expansion are slow to come.