Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday that he expects his electric vehicle company will soon invest in India, a fast-growing auto market.
“I am confident that Tesla will be in India, and will do so as soon as humanly possible,” Musk was quoted saying after meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York.
Musk is one of the 20 or so business leaders Modi met after arriving in the city on Tuesday.
“[Modi] really cares about India because he’s pushing us to make significant investments in India, which is something we intend to do,” Musk reportedly said. “We are just trying to figure out the right timing.”
“We had multifaceted conversations on issues ranging from energy to spirituality,” Modi later posted about his meeting on Twitter, which Musk owns.
According to Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Modi “invited him to explore opportunities in India for investments in electric mobility and rapidly expanding commercial space sector.”
Tesla has been demanding reduced import tariffs on EVs exported to the South Asian country. India is meanwhile keen for Musk’s company to produce domestically, and both sides appear to be negotiating. Indian media reported in May that Tesla had proposed domestic manufacturing to the Indian government.
India’s Tata Motors, part of the Tata Group, currently has more than 80% of the market share in passenger EVs.
Modi is in the U.S. on his first state visit. He will attend the International Day of Yoga on Wednesday at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, then meet with the U.S. President Joe Biden for a summit on Thursday. (NEW YORK/MUMBAI)