Calling himself a ‘fan’ of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tesla and Twitter boss Elon Musk said he was “incredibly excited about the future of India”.
The tech billionaire met Modi on Tuesday during his official visit to the United States. He later said that Tesla is looking to invest in India “as soon as humanly possible”.
“I am confident that Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible,” Musk told reporters, adding he intended to visit the country next year.
“I would like to thank the prime minister for his support and hopefully we will be able to announce something in the not-too-distant future.
“We do not want to jump the gun on an announcement, but I think it is quite likely it will be a significant investment in our relationship with India.”
Elon Musk: Excitement and promise for India’s future
Speaking to Indian news agency ANI, Musk said: “I am incredibly excited about the future of India. It has more promise than any other large country in the world and the PM really cares about India… because he is pursuing us to make a significant investment, which is something we need to do. In a nutshell, it was a fantastic meeting.
“I can say he really wants to do the right thing for India. He wants to be open, he wants to be supportive of new companies, obviously, but at the same time, make sure it accrues to India’s advantage, which is obviously his job. I am a fan of Modi.
“He did (invite me to India). And yes, I’m tentatively planning to visit India again next year. I’m looking forward. I’m actually incredibly excited about the future of India. I think India has more promise than any large country in the world.
Hindustan Times added that Tesla executives visited India in May and spoke with ministers and government officials about a manufacturing base for cars and batteries. Musk had said Tesla is likely to pick a location for a new factory by the end of this year and that India was an ‘interesting’ option.
It then shelved its India entry plans due to high import tax structures.
PM Modi is scheduled to meet US President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
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