Tesla CEO Elon Musk Postpones Trip To India

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has postponed his trip to India where he was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and announce plans to enter the South Asian market.

“Unfortunately, very heavy Tesla obligations require that the visit to India be delayed, but I do very much look forward to visiting later this year,” Musk said on X.

Musk was scheduled to visit India on April 21 and 22.

On April 10, Musk confirmed his visit to India and his planned meeting with PM Modi. In a post on X, he wrote: “Looking forward to meeting with Prime Minister @NarendraModi in India.”

While the specific reasons behind the postponement remain undisclosed, reports suggest that Musk’s schedule might coincide with his presence required for a crucial conference call on April 23 in the US to answer questions about Tesla’s first quarter performance.

Musk was also expected to meet with India’s burgeoning spacetech startups during his visit to the country.

A number of startups, including Skyroot Aerospace, Dhruva Space, Piersight, Digantara, SatSure and KaleidEO among others were invited by the government for talks with Musk.

Meanwhile, Tesla is in talks with Reliance Industries for a potential joint venture to set up a manufacturing facility in India.

The company has already started the production of right-hand drive EVs at its manufacturing facility in Germany as it doubles down on its plans to enter the Indian market.

Musk emphasised the importance of electric cars for India, stating that it’s a natural evolution for his company to enter the Indian EV market.

His upcoming visit coincides with India’s reduction of import taxes on select electric vehicles to as low as 15%, provided automakers commit to investing a minimum of $500 Mn and commencing domestic manufacturing within three years. Currently, India imposes hefty taxes, ranging from 70% to 100%, on imported EVs, dependent on their price.

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