Elon Musk postpones the trip to India, citing “heavy responsibilities” at Tesla Elon Musk

Elon Musk has postponed a trip to India, including a planned meeting with the prime minister, Narendra Modi, after citing “serious responsibilities” at Tesla.

The chief executive of Tesla was expected to visit on April 21 and April 22, where he was expected to announce an investment of $ 2-3bn in the country, according to Reuters, and the spending plans were aimed at building a new factory in India.

Musk said in a post on X that he had to push back the tour because of pressure from the electric car maker, which reports quarterly results on Tuesday.

“Unfortunately, Tesla’s very pressing responsibilities require that the visit to India be delayed, but I am very much looking forward to visiting later this year,” he wrote.

Tesla is expected to report its worst performance in seven years this week, due to declining global demand for electric vehicles and price pressure from Chinese rivals. The company has already shown a poor first quarter in terms of sales, after revealing this month that deliveries missed market expectations by around 13%.

Tesla has reacted to the slowdown by cutting more than 10% of its global workforce, equivalent to at least 14,000 roles.

Musk is facing questions from analysts about growth in China, plans for an affordable electric car known as the Model 2 and whether the reported shift to focus on autonomous robotaxis will affect the project. Shares in Tesla are down 40% so far this year. Analysts at Wedbush Securities wrote last week that Tuesday’s conference call with the investor community represented a “moment of truth” for Musk and Tesla.

“Although we have seen more difficult times in the Tesla story going back to 2015, 2018, 2020 … this time is a little different as for the first time many long time Tesla believers are giving up on the story and getting involved. white cloth,†Wedbush wrote in a note to investors.

Reuters reported this month that Tesla had halted production of the Model 2, prompting Musk to post on X that “Reuters is lying†, without citing any wrongdoing.

Musk’s visit to New Delhi was also expected to include meetings with executives in the aerospace industry. Musk is awaiting regulatory approval from the Indian government to begin rolling out his Starlink satellite service in the country.

Musk had posted on X on April 10 that he “Looks forward to meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India†.