NEW DELHI, June 8
Tesla CEO Elon Musk Friday congratulated Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi over the National Democratic Alliance’s electoral victory, saying that he looks forward to his companies doing “exciting work” in India.
“Congratulations @narendramodi on your victory in the world’s largest democratic elections! Looking forward to my companies doing exciting work in India,” Musk said in a post on X.
Modi will be administered the oath of office on June 9, marking the beginning of his third consecutive term as Prime Minister.
Musk’s message comes a couple of months after he deferred a visit to India, citing “very heavy Tesla obligations”. The CEO was expected to be in India on April 21 and 22 and scheduled to meet Modi.
His proposed visit was to come after the Modi-led Union Government released its new Electric Vehicle (EV) policy that opened the doors for the world’s most valuable automaker to import cars into India at lower duties amid expectations of fostering an EV ecosystem in the country.
In June last year, Musk met with Modi during the the then PM’s US visit, saying that he planned to visit India while expressing confidence that Tesla would enter the Indian market soon. In the past, he had sought import duty reduction in India to be able to sell his cars in the country. Not just electric cars, Musk is also reportedly interested in the Indian market for his satellite internet business Starlink, for which regulatory approvals are awaited.
