As Tesla continues to expand its network of production facilities, many countries have sought to offer the automaker its next manufacturing home. Over the past few years, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has had several discussions with the government of India about a potential investment, and a recent meeting stoked encouragement that the two could forge a deal soon.
Great meeting you today @elonmusk! We had multifaceted conversations on issues ranging from energy to spirituality. https://t.co/r0mzwNbTyN pic.twitter.com/IVwOy5SlMV
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 21, 2023
Following a recent meeting between Musk and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in the U.S., the Tesla CEO has said he’s “confident” that Tesla would be investing in the country, according to a report from Fortune. Musk also laid out plans to make his own visit to India as soon as next year, adding that Tesla would look to enter the country soon.
“I’m confident that Tesla will be in India and we’ll do so as soon as humanly possible,” Musk said in a recent statement to reporters.
The news comes just months after Musk said that Tesla would likely announce a new factory location by the end of 2023, and after the automaker shared plans to build its next gigafactory in Mexico. Tesla has been in talks with the Indian government about the potential to establish manufacturing facilities there for the past few years, along with a number of other countries.
On the meetings with Musk, Modi wrote on Twitter that the two had “multifaceted conversations on issues ranging from energy to spirituality.” The tweet came as a response to Musk in an earlier thread from Modi, in which the Tesla CEO said, “It was an honor to meet again.”
Modi has also offered an open invite for Musk to assist with the commercial space sector in India, along with investments into the electric vehicle market. During Modi’s trip to the U.S., he also visited with President Joe Biden, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Tesla already has a handful of U.S. factories, most notably including its car factories in Fremont, California and Austin, Texas as well as its battery factory in Sparks, Nevada. Beyond the U.S., it has gigafactory locations in Grünheide, Germany; and Shanghai, China. Musk has also been courted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol within the last year, along with the governments of France, Spain, and Italy.
It’s unclear when Tesla would set up manufacturing operations in India, or if it would even be the next announced factory after its Mexico Gigafactory. Still, Tesla has a long ways to go before reaching Musk’s eventual goal of having 12 gigafactories, so the automaker will likely continue expanding significantly over the next decade at least.
Originally published on EVANNEX. By Peter McGuthrie.
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