Elon Musk says India visit delayed due to Tesla obligations

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Saturday said his visit to India has been delayed owing to the company's "heavy obligations".

Musk, who was supposed to be visiting India in the fourth week of April, in a post on X said, "Unfortunately, very heavy Tesla obligations require that the visit to India be delayed, but I do very much look forward to visiting this year".

Earlier this month, Musk had confirmed his proposed visit to India, saying he was looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was also likely to announce the company's investment plans in the country, according to sources.

The visit had raised questions about why the tech mogul was coming to India in the middle of a volatile general election. Many saw his meeting with the prime minister and rumours of an announcement that his companies were to enter India as a way to boost the image of a beleaguered government struggling against several embarrassing revelations in recent months. 

Musk, who has described the launch of Tesla electric vehicles in India as a "natural progression", was reportedly going to be accompanied by other company executives during the visit, expected in the week of 22 April, a source had said.

The announcement of his visit came weeks after the government announced a new electric vehicle policy under which import duty concessions would be given to companies setting up manufacturing units in the country with a minimum investment of $500 million, a move aimed at attracting major global players like Tesla.

When Twitter, now owned by Musk and known as X, entered into litigation with the Indian government in 2022, Musk had criticised the decision as a risky choice, jeopardising Twitter’s third-largest market.

Since then, Musk has taken over Twitter and has obliged the Indian government by taking down content it has objected to. Just this week, microblogging site X let it be known that it had taken down political content at the behest of the Indian government, even as it disagrees with the stance.

Many see this as a quid pro quo move. For example, until recently, the cheapest Tesla electric car would have cost Rs 70 lakh in India thanks to a 100 per cent import duty. That tariff has now been reduced to 15 per cent for those who invest US$ 500 million to set up a manufacturing unit in India.

As a result, it has been reported, a Tesla electric car imported into India may cost Rs 35 lakh, even as a model manufactured in India specifically for the Indian market could cost Rs 25 lakh, half the cost of some regular luxury cars here.

With inputs from PTI