Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants to bring his electric cars to India as “soon as possible.”
At least that’s what he told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday during their meeting. Mr. Musk said that he has been waiting for the right time to bring the electric vehicles to India and says that it may be coming in the near future.
Tesla has been trying to open operations in India for some time. Last year, the company planned to build a manufacturing plant for EV batteries, but the Indian government shut down their plans, insisting that the company make the cars in India instead. However, Mr. Musk has said he needs to try importing Teslas first to test out demand.
Despite the initial pitfalls in their business relationship, Mr. Musk remains a fan of Mr. Modi.
“He 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,” Mr. Musk, who is also the CEO of SpaceX, told the media yesterday.
The meeting comes after former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey made allegations that the Indian government tried to force Twitter to censor political speech in the country. In an interview, the former CEO said that the Modi government had threatened to close their offices and intimidated employees. The Indian government has since denied the charges.
Mr. Musk, who currently owns Twitter, has complied with many more censorship requests from international governments than the prior owners. He has said that it was the only way for the site to continue to operate in India.
Mr. Modi is in the U.S. for a three-day visit that will include a state dinner at the White Hosue on Thursday.
