‘I am a fan of Modi’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk after meeting PM in New York
Elon Musk said he had a "very good" conversation with PM Modi, and that the maker of electric vehicles will try to be in India "as soon as humanly possible."
Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday said he's a fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who “really wants to do the right thing for India.” Speaking to reporters after meeting Modi in New York, Musk said the Indian prime minister really cares about India as he's pushing Tesla to make significant investments in the country.
“Which is something we tend to do. In a nutshell, it was a fantastic meeting with the prime minister,” Musk said.
“He wants to be open, he wants to be supportive of new companies and make sure it accrues to India's advantage. Which is, obviously, that's the job,” the billionaire investor added.
When asked about what he thinks of Modi's leadership for making technologies inclusive, Musk said, “He really wants to do the right thing for India. I am a fan of Modi. It was a fantastic meeting and I like him quite a lot.”
According to a Reuters report, Musk was to brief PM Modi on plans to set up an electric vehicle manufacturing base in India.
"I am confident Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible," Musk said when asked by reporters about a timeline.
Musk is also the executive chairman of Twitter, which has had run-ins with Modi's government.
Last week, Twitter's co-founder Jack Dorsey said New Delhi threatened to shut it down in India unless the social network complied with orders to restrict accounts critical of the handling of farmer protests, a charge Modi's government called an "outright lie".
Prime Minister Modi arrived in the United States on Tuesday for a state visit that has been projected as a milestone in ties between the two countries that would deepen and diversify their partnership. Modi has been to the US five times since becoming prime minister in 2014, but his visit until Saturday will be his first with the full diplomatic status of a state visit.
(With inputs from agencies)