New Delhi: Tesla CEO and owner of X (formerly Twitter) Elon Musk is set to arrive in India later in April and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while he is also expected to make a major announcement on plans to invest and open a new factory in the country, two sources with direct knowledge told Reuters. Musk will meet PM Modi in the week of April 22 in New Delhi and will separately make an announcement about his plans in India. 

The Tesla CEO will be accompanied by other executives during his visit, said the first source. However, PM Modi’s office and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment and the sources said the details of the trip are confidential. Musk’s final India trip agenda could still change.

Tesla bolstered by India’s EV policy

Musk and PM Modi last met in New York in June last year, when the Indian leader embarked on a historic state visit to the US. Tesla for months lobbied India to lower import taxes on electric vehicles while it weighed setting up a factory there, and India unveiled a new EV policy in March lowering import taxes to 15 per cent from 100 per cent on some models if a manufacturer invests at least $500 million and sets up a factory too.

Under the new policy, effective immediately, companies that meet the requirements will be allowed to import up to 8,000 EVs costing $35,000 or more a year at a lower tax rate of 15 per cent. India currently levies a tax of 70 per cent or 100 per cent on imported EVs depending on their value, and its new policy was a big win for Tesla, which was facing pushback from domestic carmakers.

According to Reuters, Tesla officials are expected to visit India this month to look at sites for a manufacturing plant that would require an investment of about $2 billion. Tesla has also begun production of right-hand drive cars at its German plant for export to India later this year, sources have said.

Tesla EVs in India will be ‘natural progression’: Musk

Dropping a major hint about his plans in India earlier this week at an X Spaces session, Musk said, “India is now the most populous country in the world, based on population. India should have electric cars just like every other country has electric cars. It’s a natural progression to provide Tesla electric vehicles in India.”

Elon Musk in June last year said that he was planning to visit India in 2024, adding that he was confident that the electric carmaker will be in India and will do so “as soon as humanly possible”. PM Modi had also extended an invitation to the billionaire to visit India. “I would like to thank PM Modi for his support and hopefully, we will be able to announce something in the future,” Musk said at this time.

 

In November, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal visited Tesla’s manufacturing facility in California’s Fremont and said that the US electric car maker is on its way to double its components imports from India. Goyal said he was proud to see the growing importance of auto component suppliers from India in the Tesla EV supply chain.

India’s EV market is small but growing and dominated by local carmaker Tata Motors. The Indian government has made an ambitious target of 30 per cent EV purchases out of total car sales. Tesla’s push into India comes as slowing EV demand in its main US and Chinese markets coincides with intensifying competition from Chinese automakers.

(with inputs from Reuters, ANI)

ALSO READ | India not having permanent seat on UN Security Council is ‘absurd’: Elon Musk