His plans to visit the country come amid Tesla’s plans to enter India
Tesla CEO and Twitter owner Elon Musk on Wednesday in a tweet said that he ”looks forward” to visiting India in 2024. Mr. Musk was replying to a tweet by DogeDesigner that read, ”I’m planning to visit India next year” along with a photoshopped image of him in Indian attire.
”I look forward to it”, he replied.
Notably, the billionaire announced his decision to visit India after he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York in June this year. Asked whether PM Modi extended an invitation to him, the billionaire entrepreneur said, ”He did. And yes, I’m tentatively planning to visit India again next year. I’m looking forward.”
I look forward to it!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 23, 2023
His plans to visit the country comes amid Tesla’s plans to enter India and set up shop here.
On being asked about a timeline for Tesla coming to India, Mr. Musk previously said, “I am confident that Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible. I would like to thank the prime minister for his support and hopefully, we will be able to announce something in the not-so-distant future.”
The Indian government had invited Tesla to explore opportunities in infusing money into electric mobility and commercial space sectors. Since a meeting between Mr Musk and PM Modi in June, Tesla has fast-tracked closed-door discussions with officials on a potential plant investment and plans to build a new low-cost $24,000 EV.
Those talks continued in July with Tesla discussing minute details of its plans to gain access to India’s fast-growing EV market, and Prime Minister Modi personally tracking developments, sources say. Those meetings, though, have been strictly kept under wraps.
Earlier this year, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari also said that Tesla is welcome to set up a manufacturing plant in India.
Tesla Motors has been planning to enter the Indian market since 2019, but the high import duty on electric vehicles has been the big hurdle. The cheapest Tesla costs around $45,000 — around ₹ 37 lakh. The US automaker argues that a 100 percent import duty will make their cars too expensive and take away their key selling point — affordability.
Mr Musk who also heads SpaceX, said he is looking forward to bringing Starlink to India which ”can be incredibly helpful for remote or rural villages.”