Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who will be visiting India later this month, is a supporter of India. While the final agenda of the business tycoon’s visit is yet to be confirmed, it is widely believed that he may unveil big-ticket investment plans for the country.
In an interview to news agency ANI, the prime minister was asked about how Musk had said he is a “Modi fan”. “Look, the first thing saying that Elon Musk is a supporter of Modi is one thing, basically, he is a supporter of India. And I just met him. It’s not like that,” he was quoted as saying.
Prime Minister Modi said he has met Musk twice before – once during a factory visit in 2015 and the other, most recently, during his state visit to the US last year. Recalling the factory visit in 2015, he said the Tesla CEO had cancelled his pre-scheduled commitment to meet him.
“He showed me everything in his factory. And I understood his vision from him. I went there just now (to the US in 2023) and met him again. And now he is about to come to India,” the PM told ANI.
On April 10, Musk confirmed his visit to India and his planned meeting with PM Modi. In a post on X, he wrote: “Looking forward to meeting with Prime Minister @NarendraModi in India.”
In June last year, Musk had met Modi during the prime minister’s US visit. The Tesla CEO had then said he planned to visit India in 2024, while expressing confidence that the company will enter the Indian market soon.
His planned visit comes weeks after the central government announced a new electric vehicle policy, under which import duty concessions will be given to companies setting up manufacturing units in India with a minimum investment of $500 million. This is a move aimed at attracting major global players like the US-based Tesla.
At present, cars imported as completely built units (CBU) attract customs duty ranging from 70 per cent to 100 per cent, depending on the engine size and cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value. Among the large countries of the world, India has the highest import duties on cars.
‘Global investment welcome but should have India’s toil’
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, which begin on April 19, Modi said he strongly believes in global investment but that should ensure that Indians are engaged in the manufacturing process. On the possible entry of Tesla and Starlink into India, he said whoever wishes to invest can do so, but that should translate into employment for the youth.
“I want investment to come in India because, in India, it doesn’t matter who has invested money, (but) the sweat put into the work must be of our own people. The product should have the essence of our soil, so that our youth in the country will get employment opportunities,” he told ANI.
Earlier this month, Musk said it would be a natural progression to provide Tesla EVs in India. “India is now the most populous country in the world, based on population. India should have electric cars just like every other country has electric cars. It’s a natural progression to provide Tesla electric vehicles in India,” he added.
Outlining the growth in India’s EV sector, Modi further said India is moving fast in this domain and companies must come and invest here. Giving data, he talked about how EV sales have increased from just 2,000 in 2014-15 to 12 lakh in 2023-24.
“Not 2,000 units, but 12 lakhs units were sold in 2023-24. This means a network of such a big charging station has been created. It has helped the environment and we have made policies regarding this,” he was quoted as saying.
“We have told the world that India is moving very fast on EVs. If you want to do manufacturing, you should come,” he added.
(With PTI inputs)
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