Elon Musk Set to Visit India To Meet PM Modi & Announce Tesla's Plans

Elon Musk, the world's second-richest person, is expected to visit India this month to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a Reuters report. During the meeting, Musk is likely to announce Tesla's plans to invest in the country and open a new factory. The billionaire entrepreneur is reportedly scheduled to land in New Delhi during the week of April 22.

This news comes as Tesla officials are expected to visit India this month to scout for potential manufacturing sites for a factory that could require an investment of up to $2 billion.

Rumours about Tesla launching its electric vehicles in India have been circulating for years, but the plans never materialised due to a deadlock between the Indian government and the automaker. Tesla has always sought to import its electric vehicles from its Shanghai plant in China, while the Indian government has insisted on imposing customs duties that would make Tesla's products unviable and has also been opposed to Chinese imports.

Tesla is now preparing to import its electric cars from its new Berlin plant, as the government has relaxed some of the duties involved with importing EVs on the condition that the world's most valuable automaker commits to local manufacturing. Last year, Elon Musk met with PM Modi in the United States and had fruitful discussions, following Tesla's initial attempts to launch its products in the country, which fizzled out and led to the company transferring employees from its Indian entities abroad.