Did Elon Musk just hint at a Tesla factory in India?

Is Tesla serious about setting up a Tesla factory in India? CEO Elon Musk gives tantalising answer.

Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla, Twitter, SpaceX and many other tech-linked companies. (REUTERS)

That the massive Indian market is on billionaire Elon Musk's mind has been clear for a long time. But nothing solid has fructified so far. That may be changing, if what Musk said recently comes to happen.

For some time now, Tesla has been looking to pick a new location for a factory. On Tuesday, CEO Musk said he would probably pick a location by the end of 2023.

The India angle came to the forefront when the Wall Street Journal's correspondent asked Musk at an event if the country was interesting and he replied by saying, "Absolutely".

Not just that, even the Indian officialdom is dropping big hints about Tesla. Tesla is "serious" about its plans to establish a manufacturing base in India, the country's deputy minister for technology told Reuters last week.

However, concrete steps are being taken by Tesla in the neighbourhood first. Tesla announced earlier this year that it would open a gigafactory in Mexico to expand its global output.

Musk preparing Tesla for time after him?

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter and founder of several other firms, on Tuesday floated the idea of creating an educational institution that controls most of his votes, without giving details, Reuters reported.

He said he has identified a successor to the board so that the person can run the company in "a worst case scenario". "I've told the board 'Look, if something happens to me unexpectedly, this is my recommendation for taking over,'" he said.