Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla.
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Elon Musk has postponed a planned trip to India where he was to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing obligations Tesla automaker and saying he intended to reschedule the visit for later this year. M
“Unfortunately, Tesla’s very heavy obligations require the visit to India to be delayed, but I look forward to visiting later this year,” Musk posted on his X social media platform.
Reuters reported the postponement on Saturday, citing four people familiar with the matter. The trip was expected to include the announcement of plans for the electric vehicle (EV) maker to enter the South Asian market, Reuters reported.
The CEO and the Prime Minister are both at critical junctures.
Tesla could have used India’s announcement to try to reassure investors after months of falling stock prices and the April 15 news that it would lay off more than 10% of its global workforce.
Musk is expected to face tough questions from analysts when Tesla announces quarterly results on Tuesday about declining sales, growing competition from Chinese electric vehicle makers and the fate of future key Tesla products.
Reuters reported on April 5 that Tesla had halted development of its long-awaited affordable electric vehicle, often called the Model 2. Musk posted that “Reuters is lying” after the report, without citing any inaccuracies. He did not speak further about the model, leaving investors clamoring for clarity.
Rohan Patel, a public policy executive at Tesla who was reportedly among those leading the company’s plans to enter India, also resigned this week.
Musk was due to arrive on Sunday, two days after the start of India’s national elections, in which Modi is expected to win a rare third term. Modi wants to highlight the progress made towards the promise of making India a global manufacturing hub.
After Reuters reported Musk’s India trip plans on April 10, he posted on X that he was “looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India!”
In New Delhi, Musk was expected to announce a $2 billion to $3 billion investment, mainly to build a factory in India, after the government announced a policy of reducing high tariffs on imported cars if companies invest locally, Reuters reported.
He was also supposed to meet executives of several space startups in New Delhi. Musk is awaiting regulatory approvals from the Indian government to begin offering his Starlink satellite broadband services in the world’s most populous country.