00:00 Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has deferred his visit to India to meet with Prime Minister
00:06 Narendra Modi, attributing the delay to pressing commitments at Tesla.
00:11 Musk expressed his intention to reschedule the visit for a later time this year.
00:15 Unfortunately, very heavy Tesla obligations require that the visit to India be delayed.
00:21 But I do very much look forward to visiting later this year, Musk posted on his ex account.
00:27 Musk's visit was anticipated to involve the unveiling of plans for Tesla's entry into
00:32 the South Asian market, as reported.
00:34 This announcement could have served as a strategy to assuage investors amidst the ongoing share
00:39 price deadlines and the recent announcement of layoffs affecting over 10% of Tesla's workforce
00:45 worldwide.
00:46 Over the past months, Tesla has been actively advocating with the Indian government to decrease
00:51 import taxes on electric vehicles, while also exploring the possibility of establishing
00:56 a manufacturing facility within the country.
00:58 Notably, India recently introduced a new EV policy, slashing import taxes to 15% from
01:04 the previous 100% for certain models.
01:07 This condition stipulates that a manufacturer must invest a minimum of $500 million and
01:11 establish a factory on Indian soil.
01:13 Earlier reports from Reuters had suggested that Tesla officials were slated to visit
01:17 India this month to scout potential locations for a manufacturing plant, with an estimated
01:22 investment of around $2 billion.
01:24 Moreover, Tesla has commenced the production of right-hand drive vehicles at its German
01:29 facility, with plans to export to India later in the year.
01:32 Tesla's foray into the Indian market comes amidst a slowdown in electric vehicle demand
01:36 in its primary markets, the US and China, owing to heightened competition from Chinese
01:41 automakers.
01:42 Although currently modest in size, India's electric vehicle market is on an upward trajectory,
01:47 predominantly led by local automaker Tata Motors.
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