Elon Musk’s India visit postponed

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that he has postponed his visit to India due to heavy obligations at Tesla and looks forward to visiting later this year. Musk was supposed to visit India for two days, April 21 and 22, to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and announce plans to enter the Indian market.

CNBC-TV18 was the first to report on Saturday morning that Musk is likely to postpone his visit to India.

Musk had tweeted on April 10 that he was looking forward to meeting PM Narendra Modi. The timing of the visit is interesting, since just a few weeks ago, the Indian government had notified a new electric vehicle manufacturing policy which allows the government to give duty concessions to electric car companies committing to make in India.

PM Narendra Modi has said Musk is a supporter of India and is welcome to invest, but added that he must create employment opportunities for India’s youth.

The earlier plannned visit coincided with Musk’s having to attend a crucial conference call on April 23 in the United States to answer questions about Tesla’s first quarter performance.

Wedbush Securities has described this call as a ‘moment of truth’ for Tesla, and added that Musk must outline a roadmap for growth and pricing strategies amid slowing growth in China. Investors are also looking for answers about the launch of the low cost Model 2, which they believe is critical for the company’s future growth.

Musk has been battling a stock that has taken a beating recently, and a global slowdown in auto sales. This makes the entry of the world’s largest EV maker into what is globally the third-largest auto market a significant step.

Falling global sales of EVs and a tough pricing environment have also forced Tesla to lay-off around 10% of its global workforce.

As per the earlier proposed plan Musk was supposed to be in India for 48 hours, during which he would meet the PM, space startups and business leaders.

New dates for Musk’s visit have not been announced so far. CNBCTV18