During his current visit to the US, Indian PM Narendra Modi will meet Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla. Tesla and the Indian government are at odds over taxation and a China-related problem.
The last time PM Modi and Musk were seen together was in 2015, when PM Modi paid a visit to the US to Musk’s Tesla plant and expressed interest in the cutting-edge automobiles. Founded in 2003, PM Modi went to the Tesla plant where he was shown by some engineers why electric vehicles can be superior to gasoline-powered vehicles.
Later, Musk informed the media that he had discussed power generation with PM Modi and how, potentially, there was a method to advance it similarly to the development of smartphones. Notably, there is a dispute between Tesla and the Indian government on a number of topics, including import taxes, import duties, and China-related matters.
However, news that Tesla was considering constructing a manufacturing in India for both local and international sales surfaced last month.
The suggestion was made in response to India’s refusal to cut the import tariff on automobiles, which may be as high as 100%, as requested by Tesla last year. Tesla is interested in investigating the market first with imports, even though India wants the automaker to produce cars domestically in the nation.
Making automobiles in India is in line with PM Modi’s “Make in India” campaign push to businesses, especially as they want to expand their supply chains outside China. Whether Musk would establish a rapport with India and comply with the request is yet to be seen.
With a stronger focus on high technology and defence collaboration, PM Modi’s state visit to the US, hailed as a turning moment in bilateral ties, departed on Tuesday. PM Modi will meet Elon MUSK and more than twenty other thought leaders, including Nobel laureates, economists, artists, scientists, intellectuals, entrepreneurs, academicians, and specialists in the health sector.
These people include physicist and novelist Neil deGrasse Tyson, economist Paul Romer, winner of the Nobel Prize, Nicholas Nassim Taleb, and Ray Dalio, an investor. According to the officials, other well-known individuals include Falu Shah, Jeff Smith, Michael Froman, Daniel Russell, Elbridge Colby, Peter Agre, Stephen Klasko, and Chandrika Tandon. Among other things on the programme, there will be discussions on how to increase synergy, comprehend US developments, and ask individuals to work with India.
