On Elon Musk deferring India trip, Congress says: 'He read writing on the wall'

Jairam Ramesh said when Elon Musk comes to India later this year, he will meet the new prime minister of the INDIA bloc.

Updated on: Apr 20, 2024, 17:47:52 IST

By HT News Desk

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Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said it was odd that Elon Musk was coming all the way to meet an outgoing Prime Minister. "He too has now read the writing on the wall and decided to put off his visit. INDIA's PM will welcome him soon, and the INDIA Government will promote electric vehicles even more aggressively," the Congress leader posted adding that he has an EV.

Elon Musk on Saturday announced that his India trip will be delayed because of Tesla obligations.

Elon Musk deferred his India trip citing obligations at Tesla and said he would visit India later this year. The trip was looked forward to as Tesla could have announced plans to enter the Indian market.

"Is it true that Elon Musk figured that he’d end up being pulled into BJP Jumla Prachaar and hence he has postponed his trip?" Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote on X.

Elon Musk's two-day trip was scheduled to begin on April 21, two days after the marathon election process in India began. During his visit, Musk was supposed to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was expected to announce an investment of $2 billion to $3 billion to build a factory in India after India announced a policy lowering high tariffs on imported cars if companies invest locally, Reuters reported.

Elon Musk is in the middle of a major firefighting in Tesla. Reuters reported on April 5 that Tesla had halted development of its long-awaited affordable EV, called the Model 2. Elon Musk denied the report and has not spoken about the model while the investors are pressing him. Rohan Patel, a Tesla public policy executive who was one of those leading the company's India entry plans, also resigned this week.

Maharashtra and Gujarat reportedly extended land offers to Tesla for the factory purpose.

"Unfortunately, very heavy Tesla obligations require that the visit to India be delayed, but I do very much look forward to visiting later this year," Elon Musk announced on X. Musk has also been expecting to enter the Indian market for his satellite internet business Starlink.

In June 2023, Musk met Modi during PM Modi's US visit and said that he would come to India in 2024. Musk last visited India in 2007.

(With agency inputs)

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HT News Desk
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