Modi Meets Musk

“I’m a fan of Modi,” said Twitter owner and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his three-day visit to the US and Egypt to meet the top heads of various fields.

Musk expressed his views about expanding Tesla factories in India. “I am confident Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible.”

“It was a fantastic meeting with the Prime Minister and I like him quite a lot. He visited our factory a few years ago. So, we have known each other for a while,” he said.

Musk appreciates Modi’s plan and openness for supporting new companies and investments in India. Though reluctantly, he also expressed his views about investing in India. “We do not want to jump the gun on an announcement but I think it is quite likely it will be a significant investment in our relationship with India,” he said.

“India has the potential for all three pillars of a sustainable energy future,” said Musk, talking about how solar and wind energy can be the best bet given the vast amount of land in India. “Just one or two percent of land of India can power the whole country making the country more sustainable. Then all you need is batteries and electric vehicles to make the whole thing sustainable,” said Musk while talking about how this could be cost beneficial for the country as well.

Moreover, Musk also wants to bring Starlink, the mobile internet constellation operated by SpaceX, to India. He said that it could be beneficial for connectivity in the rural areas of the country.

Modi visited Tesla’s factory in 2015 and this is the second time he is meeting Musk. Moreover, Tesla executives had visited India in May to speak to ministers and government officials for manufacturing batteries and bases for cars. Musk had shown interest in setting up a factory in India by the end of the year. Though, due to the high import tax in India, Tesla had shelved its plan for entering India last year.

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