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His comments followed a meeting with Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in New York during PM Modi's state visit to the United States. A
source previously told Reuters that Musk would brief PM Modi on plans to set up
a manufacturing base in India.
"I am confident that Tesla will be in India and will do
so as soon as humanly possible," Musk said when asked by reporters about
Tesla's plan to invest in India, adding he intended to visit the country next
year.
"I would like to thank the prime minister for his
support and hopefully we'll be able to announce something in the not too
distant future," he added.
Musk said he is "a fan" of PM Modi and noted the
prime minister visited a Tesla factory in California several years ago,
according to video from Indian broadcaster ANI on Twitter.
"India has more promise than any large country in the
world. He (PM Modi) really cares about India because he's pushing us to make
significant investments in India, which is something we intend to do. We are
just trying to figure out the right timing," Musk said.
India has strong potential for a sustainable energy future
including solar power, stationary battery packs and electric vehicles, he said.
Musk, also CEO of SpaceX, said it hopes to bring Starlink satellite Internet
service to India as well.
Executives of Tesla visited India and held talks with Indian
bureaucrats and ministers last month on establishing a manufacturing base for
cars and batteries in India.
Musk said last month 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.
US companies need to reduce reliance on China as a
manufacturing base in the face of tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Tesla last year shelved its India entry plans due to high import tax
structures.
PM Modi's meeting with Musk, who owns Twitter, came days
after Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey accused India of threatening to shut down
the platform for not complying with content takedown orders during a 2020-2021
protest. India called the allegation an "outright lie".
Musk has not commented on the episode, which caused a
political storm in India. © Reuters