Indian-American academic, entrepreneur and author Vivek Wadhwa has criticized billionaire Elon Musk’s decision to shun India for his Tesla manufacturing venture.
“Elon will be the biggest loser” by choosing China over India to manufacture Tesla electric cars, Wadhwa wrote.
“A few years ago, I exchanged emails with him about the risks of China. I warned him that China would blindly rob him and urged him to consider moving manufacturing to India instead. China will have monopolized the market in India by now,” Wadhwa said.
Tesla lays off more than 16,000 employees.Many people’s H-1B visas are expiring.
Musk had planned to visit India last month but later postponed it. But a few days later, the billionaire visited China and won concessions for Tesla.
Musk was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Modi around April 22 to announce investments of up to $3 billion in car factories, but canceled the meeting, citing “very heavy obligations to Tesla.”
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A week later, Musk appeared in China to meet with Premier Li Qiang and move forward with rolling out advanced driver assistance packages in the world’s largest car market.
Relations between Tesla and India have shown signs of strengthening in recent months, with hopes rising that Tesla will pump around $2 billion into an EV factory and the government pledging foreign automakers to invest in local manufacturing. The import tax on automobiles from China has been reduced. However, such an announcement was postponed.
Why Elon Musk prioritized China over India
Indian officials are hopeful that recent changes in EV policy will encourage Musk to invest in the near future.
Foreign automakers are struggling to find long-term success in the world’s most populous country, according to Bloomberg News. Ford Motor Co. announced in 2022 that it is considering alternatives for its manufacturing facilities in India, a year after announcing it would discontinue vehicle production in India. Toyota Motor Corporation said in 2020 that it would not expand its business further due to high tariffs, but later announced plans to manufacture some EV parts domestically.
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