Elon Musk postpones India visit citing obligations at Tesla

American billionaire and Tesla chief Elon Musk has postponed his scheduled India visit citing obligations at the company. 

Musk had planned to visit India on 21-22 April to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was expected to announce investment plans in the country. His visit was scheduled amid speculations about Tesla’s plan to set up a manufacturing unit in India. 

Besides leading electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, Musk also heads space technology firm SpaceX and social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Responding to a X user, Musk said, “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.”

Amidst the general slowdown in demand and growing competition, Tesla is facing a troubled time due to the drop in EV sales in China, Europe, and the US, forcing the company to cut 10% of its workforce, nearly 14,000 jobs. 

Tesla slashed prices of its cars in the US, China, and Germany last week to spur its falling sales. Tesla shares fell below $150 this week, its lowest in a year, ahead of the company’s quarterly results this week. 

Tesla is expected to post its worst results in seven years.

Amid falling sales in the US, Tesla has been looking toward untapped markets like India. However, India’s high customs duty as part of a policy to promote local manufacturing has so far inhibited Tesla’s growth in the country. 

Musk had earlier complained about how the high import duty on EV cars stopped him from entering the Indian market. Last month, New Delhi announced a significant policy change, allowing foreign car makers to import EVs priced at $35,000 or higher at a reduced import duty of 15%, provided the automakers commit to investing $500 million to set up a manufacturing facility for EVs in India and commence production of EVs within three years. 

As Musk last week said he planned to visit India, the speculations were running high that he would announce an investment for Tesla’s production of a mid-priced car. Some experts believe that Musk may plan to establish a gigafactory in India to quickly source components and manufacture vehicles for the Indian domestic and international markets.

Tesla is the largest electrical vehicle company in the world in terms of market value.