Elon Musk cancels his trip to India, citing his “very heavy” Tesla duties

Elon Musk, the billionaire American tech investor, said on Saturday that his planned trip to India has been canceled because of his “very heavy Tesla obligations.”

The CEO of electric manufacturer Tesla said on X that he is looking forward to visiting India later this year. The CEO was supposed to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India on April 21 and 22.

In response to a post on X stating that his India visit scheduled for April 21–22 has been postponed due to possible obligations to attend Tesla’s earnings call on April 23, Musk wrote on X, “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.”

“Looking forward to meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India,” he said in a post on X earlier this month, confirming his trip to India.

During Modi’s June visit to the US last year, Musk met with the latter and revealed his plans to visit India in 2024, adding that he was certain Tesla would soon make its way into the Indian market.

It was anticipated that, in addition to announcing his satcom business Starlink, he would also reveal plans for electric vehicle producer Tesla to open a location in the nation.

It was also anticipated that Musk would reveal Tesla’s intentions to establish a manufacturing facility in India, along with potential billion-dollar investments for the project, and the timeline for when Tesla would start selling electric vehicles in India.

In addition to electric vehicles, he has regulatory clearances pending for his satellite internet company, Starlink, and he is targeting the Indian market.

In order to allow Tesla to sell vehicles in India, Musk had previously demanded a drop in import duties.

His intended visit to India coincided with the government’s announcement of a new policy on electric vehicles, which aims to draw in big international players like Tesla by granting import duty concessions to businesses that establish manufacturing facilities in the nation with a minimum investment of USD 500 million.

The Asia Group (TAG), an advisor for Tesla, along with representatives from VinFast, an EV manufacturer in Vietnam, and all of the major Indian automakers—Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata, Mahindra, Kia, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, Renault, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi—attended a stakeholders’ meeting on the new EV policy on Thursday.

The purpose of the stakeholder consultation gathering was to gather feedback on the new EV manufacturing policy’s guidelines.

According to the policy, businesses that establish EV passenger car manufacturing facilities will be permitted to import a restricted quantity of cars at a reduced customs/import duty rate of 15% on vehicles costing USD 35,000 and above for a period of five years starting from the date the government issues the approval letter.

Customs duties on automobiles imported as fully built units (CBUs) range from 70 percent to 100 percent at this time, based on the engine size, cost, insurance, and freight value (CIF).

CBUs are subject to a 100% import tariff if their CIF value exceeds USD 40,000 (for gasoline engines larger than 3,000 cc and diesel engines larger than 2,500 cc).

In contrast, 70% duty is applied to vehicles having a CIF value of less than USD 40,000 (for both gasoline and diesel engines with displacement under 3,000 cc and 2,500 cc, respectively).

The goal of the new EV strategy is to draw in investment from reputable international manufacturers and market India as a location for EV production. Tesla requested tariff reductions from the Indian government last year in order to bring its cars into the country.

In 2022, Musk said that Tesla would stop producing its goods unless it was granted permission to sell and repair its cars in India. Prior to that, Tesla had been asking for a decrease in import charges in order to sell its cars there.

Musk said in August 2021 that if Tesla is successful in selling imported cars in India, the company may establish a manufacturing facility there. India is the largest nation in the world with the highest import charges, therefore Tesla was hoping to introduce its cars there.

In addition to Tesla, he has been working to get Starlink, a network of 4,000 low-Earth orbit satellites, operating in India so that the internet may be delivered to rural regions or places where regular communications infrastructure is non-functional.

Musk’s satellite internet company caused a stir in 2021 when it started taking pre-orders without the required authorization. This prompted the government to make it clear that Starlink lacked the necessary permission to provide satellite-based internet services in India.

The public had been advised by the telecom agency not to subscribe to the services that the Musk-backed business is promoting.

Subsequently, Starlink submitted an application for a GMPCS (Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite) license in November 2022.

The government is looking at the security elements of Starlink’s license application, according to sources in the Department of Telecom earlier this week.