Elon Musk postpones much-awaited India visit to ‘later this year’. Here’s why
Upstox
2 min read • Updated: April 20, 2024, 10:51 AM
Summary
“Unfortunately, very heavy Tesla obligations require that the visit to India be delayed, but I do very much look forward to visiting later this year, Elon Musk tweeted. The announcement came a couple of days after a Tesla advisor reportedly attended a stakeholders' meeting on India's new electric vehicle policy.
Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk, who was expected to land in India on April 21 for a much-awaited visit, has decided to postpone the trip. In a post on social media platform X on Saturday, April 20, Musk announced that he has to “unfortunately” defer his planned visit to the country.
Sharing the reason behind his decision to postpone the visit, Musk tweeted, “Unfortunately, very heavy Tesla obligations require that the visit to India be delayed, but I do very much look forward to visiting later this year.”
The statement came a couple of days after a Tesla advisor reportedly attended a stakeholders' meeting on India's new electric vehicle (EV) policy. The meeting was held on Thursday, April 18, news agency PTI had reported.
Also Read: Tesla advisor participates in EV policy meeting ahead of Elon Musk's India trip: Report
"It was a stakeholder consultation meeting seeking inputs for the guidelines to be framed for the new EV manufacturing policy. Tesla was represented by its advisor, The Asia Group (TAG). Vietnam's electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast was also present in the meeting," PTI had quoted a senior official as saying.
Tesla entry delayed?
Musk’s visit to India was seen as a likely acceleration towards the plan to roll out Tesla EVs in the country. The deferment of his visit, at the last moment, could indicate a postponement in the American EV manufacturer's arrival in India, analysts said.
Musk, during the now-cancelled visit, was scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting between them was scheduled days after India introduced a new EV policy that reduced import duty to 15% from 70% to 100% for EVs imported as completely built units (CBU). However, the lower duties will be applicable for only those carmakers who commit to invest ₹4,150 crore and start local production within three years.
Also Read: Elon Musk’s Starlink gets in-principle govt nod, close to bagging satellite services licence: Report
Days ahead of the Tesla CEO’s planned visit, the India government reportedly granted an in-principle nod to Starlink, Musk's satellite communication venture. The in-principle nod, which brings the company closer to getting an operating licence, was issued by the Department of Telecommunications, the Times of India reported, citing sources.