Elon Musk had on Wednesday, April 10, announced on his social media platform X, that he would be visiting India to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the nearest future.
This as the Tesla CEO is expected to announce major investment plans in the Southern Asian country soon.
In March, India cut import taxes on electric vehicles (EV) for global carmakers which commit to investing $500m (£399m) and begin local production within three years.
In 2021, Musk said that India’s high import duties had blocked the firm from establishing its cars in the world’s fastest-growing major economy, India.
“Looking forward to meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India!” The Tesla CEO had posted on X.
A senior Indian government official had however, revealed to the BBC that the meeting is slated for the last week of April and will happen at Mr Modi’s official residence in New Delhi.
Tesla’s plans to branch into India is coming at a time when the company is battling weakening sales in the US and China.
Deliveries had plummeted sharply in the first quarter of this year as Tesla battled with losses as a result of a fire outbreak at its European factory, global shipping disturbances and growing competition.
Tesla has reduced its prices repeatedly in reaction to increased competition from rivals such as BYD but demand in key markets like China has declined.
Tesla’s shares have lost almost a third of their value since beginning of this year.
Note that India had since overtaken he UK in 2022 to become the world’s fifth-largest economy, and has grown its financial resources by 8.4% in the last quarter of 2023, no thanks to a surging manufacturing sector.
