Tesla CEO Elon Musk meets PM Modi; says “Tesla coming to India”

On the first day of his historic USA state visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with the Indian diaspora in New York and met a few influential technology leaders including the Twitter owner, and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. And according to Musk himself, meeting the Indian leader has left him impressed. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Musk said, “I am a fan of Modi”. But that's not all, the billionaire entrepreneur also made a big revelation about Tesla cars coming to India.

Answering a reporter's question after the meeting on the timeline when Tesla might come to India, he said, “I am confident Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible”. He added that Tesla is likely to finalise a location to set up its India factory by the end of 2023.

Elon Musk meets PM Modi in the USA

Speaking on PM Modi’s role in bringing new technology companies to India and developing the technology infrastructure of the nation, Musk said, “I can say he really wants to do the right thing for India. He wants to be open, he wants to be supportive of new companies, obviously, but at the same time, make sure it accrues to India's advantage. I am a fan of Modi”.

Before the trip, PM Modi took to Twitter to announce, “In USA, I will also get the opportunity to meet business leaders, interact with the Indian community and meet thought leaders from different walks of life. We seek to deepen India-USA ties in key sectors like trade, commerce, innovation, technology, and other such areas”. Replying to the tweet, Musk said, “It was an honor to meet again”.

This is not the first time Musk and Modi are meeting each other. The duo met previously in 2015 during the latter's visit to the Tesla Motors factory in California.

"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," Musk told the reporters. 

“I am incredibly excited about the future of India. I think India has more promise than any large country in the world,” he added.