Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, announced this morning that he has decided to delay his scheduled visit to India because of his busy schedule with Tesla. This announcement was made just one day before he was due to arrive in the country. During his two-day visit, Musk was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and reveal his investment plans for his companies Tesla and SpaceX.
The wealthiest individual in the world announced on X that he has postponed his journey, but expressed his anticipation to travel to India later in the year.
“I am disappointed that I have to postpone my visit to India due to my significant responsibilities at Tesla, but I am eager to visit later this year,” stated the technology innovator.
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.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2024
When was Musk planned to visit India?
Musk mentioned his anticipation of meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India last week, and reports indicated that he might visit on April 21.
In June of last year, he had a meeting with the Prime Minister in the US and promised that Tesla would enter the Indian market as quickly as possible.
It was anticipated that he would declare investments of $2-3 billion in India, and his visit could potentially result in advancements for Tesla and Starlink, a satellite internet company that he owns.
It is reported that Tesla, a company known for making electric cars, is seeking out new markets due to a decrease in sales in the United States and China. India is one of the potential markets for Tesla, particularly following the government’s reduction of taxes on imported vehicles from country.
Finance Minister response
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that India is developing strategies to encourage large companies to invest in the country, particularly due to industry apprehensions regarding China.
“If large corporations express a desire to enter India, we take steps to make the country appealing for investment. We will engage in discussions if necessary, but always follow established policies, which have proven beneficial”, Sitharaman said while further stating that with China becoming a worry for many industries and experts, policies have been implemented to make India appealing for both manufacturing and services.
During a press conference in Ahmedabad on Saturday, Sitharaman said this while replyig to a question from the media about the Union Finance Ministry’s views on Musk delaying his trip to India due to the incentives he has requested from the Indian government for manufacturing in the country.
What opposition said?
Jairam Ramesh, a Congress general secretary, stated that the Tesla CEO reversed his choice after hearing the public’s feedback.
“He also read the warning signs and opted to postpone his visit. India’s Prime Minister will greet him in the near future, and the Indian government will further push for the promotion of electric vehicles,” stated the Congress leader on social media platform X.
It was odd that @elonmusk was coming all the way to India to meet an outgoing Prime Minister. He too has now read the writing on the wall and decided to put off his visit.
INDIA’s PM will welcome him soon, and the INDIA Government will promote electric vehicles even more…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 20, 2024
Musk declined to participate in the BJP election campaign, according to Priyanka Chaturvedi, a leader of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
“Did Elon Musk predict that he would be involved in BJP propaganda and therefore postponed his trip?” a question was posed by Chaturvedi on X.
Is it true that Elon Musk figured that he’d end up being pulled into BJP Jumla Prachaar and hence he has postponed his trip?
— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) April 20, 2024
