Day One: “I’m Modi’s fan; may visit India in 2024,” says Tesla CEO Elon Musk
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: “India has more promise than any other large nation,” said the world’s richest man on Wednesday after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York, adding he looked forward to visiting India next year as he is a Modi fan.
About Tesla’s plans in India, its CEO Elon Musk asserted that India has more promise than any other large country and that he is incredibly excited about its future, the media reported.
Asked if Tesla will enter the Indian market, he said he is planning to visit the country next year. “I am confident that Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible,” he said.
“I would like to thank the Prime Minister for his support and hopefully we will be able to announce something in the not-so-distant future,” Musk remarked.
He said last month that Tesla would probably pick a location for a new factory by the end of this year, adding India was an interesting place for a new plant.
After the meeting, the Tesla chief and Twitter owner commented on PM Modi’s Twitter post, “It was an honor to meet again.” To this, PM Modi replied, “Great meeting you today @elonmusk! We had multifaceted conversations on issues ranging from energy to spirituality.”
Later, Musk told reporters that Twitter, the social media giant he owns now, does not have a choice but to follow the local government. Or it will get shut down, he said, when asked about the company’s former co-owner and CEO Jack Dorsey’s recent claims that the microblogging platform was under pressure in India.
“The best we can do is to follow the laws in any given country,” he said, adding that it is impossible for “us to do more than that.”
There are different rules and regulations for different forms of governments, and “we will do our best to provide the freest speech that is possible under the law,” Musk said.
In a press release, the Ministry of external affairs said, “The Prime Minister appreciated Musk’s efforts at making technology accessible and affordable in various sectors. He invited Musk to explore opportunities in India to invest in electric mobility and rapidly expand the commercial space sector.”
PM Modi also met a group of leading academicians including Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Robert Thurman, and Neil deGrasse Tyson on the first day of his State Visit to the US. He met Nobel laureate Paul Romer as well and held discussions on “how to make our cities more sustainable and people friendly.”
After meeting statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb, PM Modi wrote on Twitter, “Professor @nntaleb has interesting perspectives on many issues and I had the opportunity to hear them on some of those subjects. He was greatly interested in India’s development strides. I emphasized how we are nurturing a spirit of enterprise and risk-taking among our youth.” The PM also highlighted the “risk-taking abilities of India’s young entrepreneurs and growing start-up ecosystem in India,” the MEA said.
The PM tweeted, “Met my friend, the distinguished author, and investor @RayDalio. Urged him to deepen investments in India and also talked about the reform trajectory of our government.”
After a meeting with intellectuals, he tweeted, “In New York City, held an extensive interaction with a group of academics. They shared their views on further strengthening India’s education sector with a focus on skills and innovation. I talked about the transformative potential of our national education policy.”
PM Modi, who reached New York on Tuesday evening, is scheduled to attend the International Yoga Day celebrations at the UN headquarters in New York. He will then travel to Washington DC where he will receive a ceremonial welcome at the White House (June 22).
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host a State Dinner in honor of the Prime Minister the same evening. He will also address a joint sitting of the US Congress on the same day.
