Elon Musk looking forward for ‘exciting work’ in India

Tech billionaire Elon Musk congratulates Narendra Modi on his historic election victory

New York: American tech billionaire Elon Musk said he is looking forward to his companies doing “exciting work” in India, as he congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his historic election victory.

Modi will be administered the oath of office on June 9, his third consecutive term as Prime Minister. “Congratulations @narendramodi on your victory in the world’s largest democratic elections! Looking forward to my companies doing exciting work in India,” Musk, 52, said in a post on X.

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Congratulations @narendramodi on your victory in the world’s largest democratic elections! Looking forward to my companies doing exciting work in India.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 7, 2024

The congratulatory message came two months after the CEO of the electric carmaker Tesla and microblogging platform X in April postponed his proposed visit to India due to “very heavy Tesla obligations”.

Musk — who was expected to be in India on April 21 and 22 and scheduled to meet Prime Minister Modi — later wrote on X that he is looking forward to coming to India later this year.

In June last year, Musk met with Modi during the latter’s US visit and stated that he planned to visit India in 2024 while expressing confidence that Tesla would enter the Indian market soon.

His proposed visit had raised expectations that he would announce plans for electric car maker Tesla to set up shop in the country, along with his satcom venture Starlink.

It was also expected that Musk would announce plans for Tesla to set up its manufacturing unit in India and investments could be to the tune of billions of dollars and the way forward for selling Tesla electric cars in India at the earliest.

Not just electric cars, he is also eyeing the Indian market for his satellite internet business Starlink, for which regulatory approvals are awaited.

Musk had in the past sought import duty reduction in India for it to be able to sell Tesla cars in the country. Musk’s plan to visit India in April came on the heels of the government announcing a new electric vehicle policy, under which import duty concessions will be given to companies setting up manufacturing units in the country with a minimum investment of $500 million, a move aimed at attracting major global players like Tesla.