Elon Musk might go to India on Sunday and see Prime Minister Modi on Monday. $20–30 Billion Investment Plan Is In the Works, Per Sources

According to reports, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, is expected to arrive in New Delhi on Sunday and meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday morning to discuss his ambitions to make investments in the electric vehicle (EV) market.

Musk will stay at the Hotel Oberoi in New Delhi. According to sources, Musk is probably going to give a plan for investing a total of 20–30 billion dollars in India. Musk is probably going to meet with entrepreneurs at Bharat Mandapam this year, amid discussions on launching electric vehicle sales in India. However, there’s a risk that this visit won’t result in the Starlink agreement.

A strategy for investments is probably divided into stages. According to sources, an announcement of a two- to three billion dollar investment in the electric vehicle market is possible. In addition to electric vehicles, component manufacturers may provide a plan for investment. According to the sources, there may be an investment in a battery production plant as part of the deal.

The prime minister was questioned over Musk’s claim that he was a “Modi fan” in an interview with news agency ANI. “Well, it’s one thing to argue that Elon Musk supports Modi; in essence, he is an advocate for India. And I recently got to know him. That isn’t how it is,” Modi said.

Modi claimed to have met Musk twice before, the most recent time being on his state visit to the US last year. The first meeting occurred during a factory tour in 2015. He recalled the 2015 plant visit and said the Tesla CEO had canceled their prearranged meeting.

“He took me around his whole factory. And it was from him that I deduced his vision. I just traveled there (to the US in 2023) and reconnected with him. And he’s planning to visit India immediately,” the PM said to ANI.

Musk formally announced his trip to India and scheduled a meeting with Prime Minister Modi for April 10. “Excited to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India,” he said in a post on X.

Musk had met Modi in June of last year, when the prime minister was visiting the US. The Tesla CEO then expressed confidence that the business would soon join the Indian market and said that he wanted to visit India in 2024.

His intended visit is scheduled for a few weeks after the central government unveiled a new policy on electric vehicles, which would provide import tariff exemptions to businesses that establish manufacturing facilities in India with a $500 million minimum investment. This is an attempt to attract significant international players like the US-based Tesla.

Completely built units (CBUs) are now subject to customs duties ranging from 70% to 100%, depending on the engine size and the amount of the car’s cost, insurance, and freight (CIF). India has the highest import taxes on automobiles among the world’s major nations.

“I want investment to come to India because, although the money invested doesn’t matter in India, the labor put in by our own people must.” In order to provide job possibilities for the country’s youth, the product should embody the character of our land, he told ANI.

Musk said earlier this month that offering Tesla electric vehicles in India would be a logical next step. In terms of population, India is now the most populated nation on Earth. India ought to have electric vehicles on par with the rest of the world. The provision of Tesla electric automobiles in India is a logical next step,” he said.