Elon Musk postpones India visit: What Jairam Ramesh said

NEW DELHI: Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh remarked on Saturday that it was unusual for Elon Musk to make the journey to meet an outgoing Prime Minister. "He too has now read the writing on the wall and decided to put off his visit," Ramesh commented. "INDIA's PM will welcome him soon, and the INDIA Government will promote electric vehicles even more aggressively," he added, mentioning that he owns an EV.


Elon Musk postponed his India trip, citing obligations at Tesla, and mentioned that he would visit later this year. The trip was eagerly anticipated as it was expected that Tesla might announce plans to enter the Indian market.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi also took it on X asking, "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?"


Elon Musk's two-day trip was scheduled to commence on April 21, just two days after the onset of the marathon election process in India.

It was planned that during his visit, Musk would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with expectations high for him to announce an investment ranging from $2 billion to $3 billion to establish a factory in India. This move followed India's announcement of a policy aimed at reducing high tariffs on imported cars, incentivizing companies to invest locally, as reported by Reuters.

Elon Musk is facing big challenges at Tesla. Reuters said on April 5 that Tesla stopped working on its upcoming affordable electric car, the Model 2. Musk denied this report, but he hasn't talked about the Model 2 while investors keep asking him about it. Also, Rohan Patel, who was helping Tesla's plans to enter India, resigned from the company this week.

Maharashtra and Gujarat reportedly offered land to Tesla for the purpose of building a factory.

"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," announced Elon Musk on X. Musk has also been anticipating entering the Indian market for his satellite internet business, Starlink.

In June 2023, Musk met PM Modi during PM Modi's US visit and expressed his intention to visit India in 2024. Musk's last visit to India was in 2007.

(With inputs from agencies)


Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.