Elon Musk to travel to India; likely to meet PM Modi and discuss Tesla’s India entry: Report

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is set to visit India later this month for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to a Reuters report, Musk is expected to announce plans regarding investments and the establishment of a new factory in the country.

The meeting is scheduled to take place in New Delhi during the week of April 22. Musk will be accompanied by other executives from Tesla. This visit comes after months of lobbying by Tesla to reduce import taxes on electric vehicles in India.

The Indian government recently unveiled a new EV policy, reducing import taxes to 15% on some models if the manufacturer invests at least $500 million and establishes a factory in the country.

Modi Musk last meeting

In June last year, Musk met with Modi during the latter's US visit and stated that he planned to visit India in 2024 while expressing confidence that Tesla would enter the Indian market soon.

His upcoming visit to India comes weeks after the government announced a new electric vehicle policy under which import duty concessions will be given to companies setting up manufacturing units in the country with a minimum investment of USD 500 million, a move aimed at attracting major global players like Tesla.

As per the policy, the companies that would set up manufacturing facilities for EV passenger cars will be allowed to import a limited number of cars at lower customs /import duty of 15 per cent on vehicles costing USD 35,000 and above for a period of five years from the date of issuance of the approval letter by the government.

At present, cars imported as completely built units (CBUs) attract customs duty ranging from 70 per cent to 100 per cent, depending on engine size and cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value less or above USD 40,000.

The policy seeks to promote India as a manufacturing destination for EVs and attract investment from reputed global EV manufacturers.

Last year, Tesla approached the Indian government seeking duty cuts to import its vehicles in India.

Previously in 2022, Musk had said that Tesla, which was earlier seeking a reduction in import duties to sell its vehicles in India, would not manufacture its products unless it is allowed to first sell and service its cars in the country.