Elon Musk postponed a go to to India which might have included a gathering with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he should are inclined to urgent points at Tesla Inc.
“Sadly, very heavy Tesla obligations require that the go to to India be delayed, however I do very a lot stay up for visiting later this yr,” the billionaire mentioned in a submit on X. He had been scheduled to go to for 2 days — April 21 and 22 — to announce plans to enter the Indian market.
The choice to postpone comes after a busy week at Tesla. Early Sunday, Musk introduced in a memo to the corporate’s greater than 140,000 staff that he was decreasing headcount by greater than 10% globally. Two prime executives additionally departed.
On Wednesday, the corporate mentioned it is going to ask shareholders to vote once more on a $56 billion compensation bundle for Musk that was voided by a Delaware courtroom in January. And on Friday, Tesla recalled nearly 3,900 Cybertruck pickups and reduce the value of most of its vehicles within the US by $2,000 as gross sales gradual and inventories rise.
The corporate may even report first-quarter earnings on April 23, having already reported automobile deliveries that missed estimates by a large margin. The inventory has fallen greater than 40% this yr, dropping the automaker’s market worth to lower than $470 billion.
Musk’s deliberate India go to was important when it comes to timing for each him and Modi. India has kicked off voting for its nationwide elections the place Modi is looking for a 3rd time period, citing the nation’s financial rise. Investments from billionaires like Musk would burnish his attraction amongst voters.
Musk is looking for permission for SpaceX’s Starlink to function in what shall be by far its largest market. Starlink has already obtained assurances from India’s authorities that will probably be in a position to begin working within the nation as quickly because the third quarter of this yr, Bloomberg reported earlier.
Tesla has additionally been making an attempt to interrupt into India for years, however excessive import taxes had been a deterrent — one thing Musk has identified repeatedly. India final month lowered import taxes on EVs from overseas carmakers that pledge to speculate no less than 41.5 billion rupees ($497 million) and begin EV manufacturing from an area manufacturing unit inside three years.
A large funding by Tesla would allow Musk to faucet into India’s burgeoning electric-vehicle market and counter slowing demand for EVs elsewhere. Tesla watchers, nevertheless, would need to see motion on the bottom after witnessing delays in beforehand introduced tasks resembling establishing a large plant in Mexico.
