Musk postpones India visit due to ‘heavy responsibilities’ at Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is postponing a visit to India that was supposed to start on Sunday due to ‘heavy commitments’ at the electric car maker. Musk reported this on the social network platform X. Now he plans to visit India later this year, where Tesla would like to build a new factory.

The visit also included a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Unfortunately, a very heavy commitment means the visit will be postponed, but I’m looking forward to coming later this year,” Musk said.

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Tesla in bad shape

It was announced Friday that Tesla is recalling nearly 3,900 Cybertrucks to repair or replace accelerator pedals. When too much force is applied to the pedals, they can get stuck in the interior upholstery. The pedals can also loosen, causing the electric vehicle to accelerate unintentionally.

In addition, Musk recently announced a major round of layoffs at Tesla, which will eliminate more than 10 percent of more than 140,000 jobs worldwide. Tesla is struggling with disappointing sales, in part due to fierce competition in China.

Tesla will release financial figures for the first quarter on Tuesday. At the beginning of this month, the American company reported that less than 387,000 vehicles have been delivered to customers in the first three months of this year. This makes it the worst quarter for Tesla in years, also due to weak demand. Tesla’s stock price has already fallen significantly on Wall Street this year.

India

Business media have reported that Tesla is sending a team to India this month to find a suitable location for a new factory. The plant may require an investment of 2 billion to 3 billion dollars. This will enable the company to better respond to the increase in demand for electric vehicles in a country with more than 1.4 billion inhabitants.