‘Absurd’: Elon Musk bats for India’s permanent UNSC seat, slams ‘those with excess power’ not giving up

‘Absurd’: Elon Musk bats for India’s permanent UNSC seat, slams ‘those with excess power’ not giving up

New Delhi: American entrepreneur and Tesla CEO Elon Musk called for India’s permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), calling the present circumstance “absurd”.

This came after UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres questioned the lack of representation of the African Union in UNSC and demanded that institutions of global governance be reformed.

Similarly, Musk stated Sunday on X, formerly Twitter,  that the  “problem is that those with excess power don’t want to give it up”.

At some point, there needs to be a revision of the UN bodies.

Problem is that those with excess power don’t want to give it up.

India not having a permanent seat on the Security Council, despite being the most populous country on Earth, is absurd.

Africa collectively should…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 21, 2024

Taking to X, Guterres Sunday stated, “Institutions must reflect today’s world, not that of 80 years ago.”

How can we accept that Africa still lacks a single Permanent Member in the Security Council?

Institutions must reflect today’s world, not that of 80 years ago.

September’s Summit of the Future will be an opportunity to consider global governance reforms & re-build trust.

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) January 20, 2024

Currently, the Security Council has five permanent members, namely China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US, and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly. India has been a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for eight terms or 16 years, with its last term being 2021-2022.

Earlier, American-born Israeli venture capitalist Michael Eisenberg responding to Guterres advocated India’s permanent membership in the UNSC and noted that the UN should be “dismantled” and a new institution with “real leadership” should take its place.

Musk then responded to Eisenberg’s tweet in which he called for “a revision of the UN bodies”.

India has been repeatedly calling for reforms within the UNSC over the past few years. “With each passing year, the feeling in the world is that India should be there, and I can feel that support…The world does not give things easily and generously; sometimes you have to take them,” Foreign Minister S Jaishankar last year observed, while answering a question on a permanent seat for India at the UNSC.

In November last year, France assured its support to India among other countries, for permanent membership at the UNSC, asserting its longstanding stance on reforming the Security Council.

Meanwhile, Musk also called for Africa to collectively have a permanent membership in the United Nations.

Musk’s automotive and clean energy company Tesla reportedly plans to invest $2 billion in India to set up manufacturing in the country in return for 15 percent concessional duty on imported vehicles during the company’s first two years of operations. However, due to resistance from local automakers, the American automotive company’s entrance in the Indian market is facing delays.

According to reports, the Centre is working on a proposed policy to slash a 100 percent Electric Vehicle (EV) import tax to as low as 15 percent for automakers committing to invest and manufacture in India. Tata Motors, India’s biggest EV player, and Mahindra & Mahindra have pushed policymakers not to lower EV import taxes to protect local firms amid Tesla’s possible entry plans.

Musk’s SpaceX, which operates satellite internet constellation Starlink, is also reportedly on the verge of launching space-based broadband services in India.

In 2021, the company had previously faced criticism in 2021 from the telecom ministry for accepting advance payments from subscribers without the necessary license. It then directed the Musk-headed company to refund the money to roughly 5,000 pre-ordered customers in India.

(Edited by Tony Rai)