Elon Musk Postpones India Visit Citing ‘Very Heavy Tesla Obligations’

Elon Musk has delayed his long-awaited visit to India, where he was due to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing heavy obligations at Tesla Inc.

“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,” the Tesla CEO posted on X, formerly Twitter—a social media platform that he owns. He was reportedly scheduled to be in India on April 21-22 to announce Tesla's investment plans for India.

Tesla is due to report its quarterly results on April 23.

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.

April 20, 2024

Musk's tweet follows a hectic week for Tesla in the US.

On Sunday, Musk—in an internal email to Tesla employees—announced job cuts globally citing “duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas”. Two top executives—Drew Baglino, senior vice president of powertrain and energy engineering, and Rohan Patel, vice president of public policy and business development—also resigned.

On Wednesday, Tesla informed the United States Securities and Exchange Commission that it will ask shareholders to once again vote on Musk's compensation package, which was voided by a Delaware court in January.

On Friday, the electric carmaker recalled Cybertruck pickups to fix or replace accelerator pedals that can dislodge and cause the vehicle to unintentionally accelerate. On the same day, Tesla slashed its car prices by up to $2,000.

Additionally, Tesla is due to declare its Q1 earnings on April 23. The carmaker has clocked its first quarterly sales decline in four years—only 357,000 units were sold in January-March as against estimates of a tad under 450,000 units. That estimate too was a downward revision from the 530,000 units expected earlier. Analysts now are warning of an annual sales decline for the world's most valued carmaker.

To be sure, a Musk-Modi meeting would've worked in both their favours.

For the prime minister, an announcement regarding Tesla's investments in India would've burnished his development-oriented credentials at a time when he is seeking re-election for a third time. For the centi-billionaire, an expansion into India would have given Tesla access to the world's third-largest automotive market, where electric cars are witnessing surging demand amid a global downturn.

Modi, in fact, laid out a red carpet of sorts for Tesla to make in India.

In March, India tweaked its EV policy to reduce customs duty on electric cars to 15% from 70-100% earlier, provided a global carmaker invests at least $500 million to set up shop in the country. The high import tax was proving to be a sticking point for Tesla's entry into India.

Since then, however, the Model 3 maker has moved into a higher gear to fasttrack its India plans. Tesla, according to reports, is manufacturing right-hand cars at its Berlin plant for the Indian market. Its officials are reportedly scouting for locations to set up a manufacturing facility as well as retail operations. Additionally, the company has reportedly tied up with Tata Electronics for componentry that will go into locally produced cars.

“India should have electric cars just like every country has electric cars,” Musk had said in a Spaces chat on X earlier. “It's a natural progression to provide Tesla cars in India.”

Turns out, that “natural progression” is still some time away.

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