Tesla's Musk to meet Modi as India woos EV investment

NEW DELHI: Tech billionaire Elon Musk said on Wednesday he is to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, following suggestions the Tesla boss will soon announce major investment plans in the country.

He made the announcement on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, without giving a date for his visit.”Looking forward to meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India!,” he wrote.The country begins voting in marathon, six weeklong elections on April 19, in which Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party is widely expected to sweep a third term in power.Indian media reported the visit could be in the week of April 22, but there was no official confirmation.Last month, India cut import taxes on electric vehicles (EVs) for global automakers committed to investing $500 million and starting local production within three years.The reduced 15-percent tax would apply for five years to any imported electric car priced at $35,000 and above, India’s commerce ministry said in a statement at the time.The move was widely seen as a win for Musk’s Tesla.In 2021, the billionaire, responding to a user on X, said that India’s high import duties had prevented Tesla from launching its cars in the world’s most populous country.Last week, the Financial Times reported that Tesla planned to send a team to India in April to study locations for a proposed $2-billion to $3-billion electric car plant.Musk and Modi met last June in New York. At the time, Musk said Modi had been “pushing us to make significant investments in India, which is something that we intend to do.”Musk said he was “incredibly excited about the future of India,” adding that the fastest-growing major economy “has more promise than any large country in the world.”India overtook Britain in 2022 to become the world’s fifth-largest economy and grew at a robust 8.4 percent in the December quarter, helped by a surging manufacturing sector.Modi said after his visit in New York it had been “great” meeting Musk, saying that they had held “multifaceted conversations on issues ranging from energy to spirituality.”Musk has faced questions from free speech activists over his social media platform X reportedly caving into the Indian government’s demands to take down critical posts.Musk has previously said on X that he had visited India in 2007, calling the country “amazing,” and saying that the Taj Mahal “truly is a wonder of the world.”