The Karnataka government has invited business magnate Elon Musk to set up businesses in the state.
Karnataka Commerce and Industry and Infrastructure Minister MB Patil wrote in a Twitter post that Karnataka is an “ideal destination” for Tesla to expand into India.
He added: “If Tesla considers building a factory in Karnataka, India, where there is huge potential and capabilities, I must say it is the destination.”
“As a progressive state and a thriving hub of innovation and technology, Karnataka stands ready to support and provide necessary facilities to Tesla and Elon Musk’s other ventures, including Starlink,” Patil wrote on Musk’s Twitter account.
Patil said Karnataka is committed to becoming a hub of technology and Manufacturing 5.0 to drive the state’s development in the coming decades.
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk during a state visit to the United States and invited him to explore investment opportunities in India in electric vehicles and the rapidly expanding commercial aerospace sector.
Musk, who is also the CEO of SpaceX, told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Modi that he was very excited about India’s future, adding that India had more hope than any major country in the world.
“I tentatively plan to visit India again next year. I’m looking forward to it,” Musk added.
In response to a reporter’s question, Musk said he believed his car company Tesla would enter India “as soon as possible”. “I would like to thank Prime Minister Modi for his support and hopefully we will be able to announce something in the near future.”
Asked when Tesla would enter India, Musk said: “We don’t want to rush into the announcement, but India is likely to get a lot of investment in the future.”
When a reporter quickly asked him what changed his mind about Tesla’s investment in India, he smiled and said, “I have never changed my mind.”
According to reports, Tesla is expected to announce the location of the new factory before the end of 2023.
Additionally, Musk has expressed interest in bringing his Starlink service to India. Starlink is a satellite-based internet service provider operated by Musk’s company SpaceX.
India intends to realize the potential of the space sector by inviting private players into the sector.