The announcement came after a phone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday
Elon Musk, the man behind big brands like Tesla, SpaceX, X, and Starlink, has confirmed that he will visit India later this year. The announcement came after a phone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.
This visit has been long overdue, as it was planned almost a year ago but did not happen.
But there have been fast-paced developments ever since Donald Trump became the US President earlier this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to the United States and met Donald Trump, as well as Elon Musk, in a separate meeting this February.
Before this, the PM had met Musk in June 2022 when he invited the billionaire businessman to invest in India in electric mobility and India’s rapidly expanding commercial space sector.
The offer was on the table from Modi again this February — that Musk should invest in India in fields such as innovation, space exploration, artificial intelligence, and sustainable development.
And one soon heard about Tesla’s plans to set up shop in Delhi and Mumbai. India would be eager to learn if Musk plans a Tesla factory in Maharashtra too.
Tesla all charged up
Besides showrooms in Mumbai’s BKC Complex and Delhi’s Aerocity, Tesla is also planning to work on a massive charging site infrastructure for the electric vehicles it will sell in India, apart from facilities for battery cell material manufacturing. The battery cell is a critical component in Tesla vehicles and storage systems.
India is one of the fastest-growing EV markets—a market Musk can’t ignore, India feels.
Over 1.5 million electric vehicles were sold in 2023. With government incentives and a huge tech workforce, India could be the next global hub for Musk’s ambitions. And with the tariffs issue resolving, hopefully with a trade deal between India and the US, Tesla could be the first entrant among Musk’s products into India.
Tesla is anticipated to face a lot of hurdles with China due to the ongoing tariff war. Hence, India is being seen as a good option.
Many are hoping for cheaper Teslas in a competitive market like India.
Starlink to log in
The second big offering from Musk for India could be the Starlink satellite internet going mainstream. This could mean fast internet connectivity for Indians.
Just last week, before Musk’s phone call with the PM, Starlink’s top officials were in Delhi meeting commerce minister Piyush Goyal as well as officials from the telecom ministry. What the company wants is a licence to start satellite communication services in India, but the nation’s security establishment has been raising some issues.
What India desires, as per the country’s latest rules, is for companies like Starlink to set up a command centre here so that communication services can be suspended in a particular area that is sensitive or troubled. This is a national security demand.
Then, there is the need for interception. But Starlink’s top brass coming to India shows Elon Musk’s company is eager to tide over the regulatory issues and make an entry into the massive Indian market, sources say.
The minister, Piyush Goyal, himself said that the discussions with Starlink have covered areas like the company’s cutting-edge technology platform, their existing partnerships, and future investment plans in India.
Musk’s company SpaceX has already signed agreements with Reliance Jio and Airtel for bringing fast internet connectivity to India.
So, the process of Starlink’s impending entry into India seems to be in the last lap.
