Electric cars: Musk to meet Modi in India, Tesla’s new El Dorado? – 04/12/2024 at 3:35 am.

According to the Financial Times, the manufacturer is already looking for locations in the country for a $2-3 billion electric vehicle factory project.

Elon Musk will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, he said on X without giving a date, a trip that could be an opportunity for the billionaire boss of Tesla to announce a major investment in the country. “We look forward to meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India!” Elon Musk wrote on the social network he owns.

Indian media have indicated that the visit could take place in the week of April 22, but no official confirmation has arrived.

The trip would take place in the middle of elections in India, which will begin a six-week election campaign on April 19, where Narendra Modi’s Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to win a third term in power.

The Financial Times reported last week that Tesla plans to send a team to India in April to study locations for a proposed $2 billion to $3 billion electric car factory.

Reduce taxes

India announced last month a cut in import duties on electric vehicles for foreign automakers that pledge to invest $500 million and start local production within three years.

This reduced duty of 15% will be applicable for five years on any imported electric vehicle priced above $35,000, India’s commerce ministry said in a statement.

The move was widely seen as a victory for Tesla.

In 2021, Elon Musk, responding to a user of

it had said that India’s high tariffs had prevented Tesla from launching its cars in the world’s most populous country.

Elon Musk, who met Narendra Modi last June in New York, said that the Indian Prime Minister “is pushing us to make big investments in India, which we intend to do.”

He also said he was “extremely excited about the future of India” which “has more promise than any major country in the world”.

India will overtake the UK in 2022 to become the fifth largest economy in the world. It grew by 8.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, the fastest among major countries, helped by a growing manufacturing sector.

For his part, Narendra Modi said after his visit to New York that it was “great” to meet Musk, saying they had “many conversations on issues ranging from energy to spirituality.”