Tesla in India? Karnataka minister wants Elon Musk to set up first factory in the state

Two days after PM Narendra Modi met billionaire Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter boss Elon Musk to discuss his possible investment plans in India, Karnataka’s newly elected Large and Medium Industries minister M B Patil on Friday said that Karnataka is the ideal destination for Tesla’s expansion.

PM Modi met Tesla CEO and Twitter owner Elon Musk on June 21 and invited Musk to explore opportunities in India for investments in electric mobility and the commercial space sector.

During the meeting, Musk said that his electric car company is looking to drive into India “as soon as humanly possible”. Musk added that he plans to visit India next year.

“We do not want to jump the gun on an announcement but I think it is quite likely that it will be a significant investment in our relationship with India,” the Tesla CEO said. 

M B Patil on Friday tweeted: "As a progressive state & a thriving hub of #innovation & #technology, Karnataka stands ready to support and provide the necessary facilities for Tesla and other ventures of  @elonmusk, including #Starlink. Karnataka is focused on being the Hub for Technology and #Manufacturing 5.0, to propel the state for the next 2 decades."

"If Tesla considers setting up a plant in India, Karnataka, with its great potential and capabilities, I must say is “The Destination”. @CMofKarnataka and I extend our invitation to Tesla in words and spirit," Patil added.

After his meeting with PM Modi, Musk also revealed that he is planning to bring Starlink, a satellite-based broadband Internet service developed by his company SpaceX, to India.
“The Starlink Internet … I think can be incredibly helpful for sort of remote or rural villages where they perhaps either may have no access to the Internet or the Internet is very expensive and slow,” he said.

Modi tweeted, "Great meeting you today @elonmusk! We had multifaceted conversations on issues ranging from energy to spirituality." To this, Musk replied,"It was an honour to meet again."

 

Foxconn deal

Earlier this month, Patil said that Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn, a key Apple supplier, will start manufacturing iPhones in Bengaluru by April 2024.

The minister informed that the company has plans to start manufacturing iPhones at its proposed Devanahalli plant and the state government would hand over the required land for the company by July 1 to facilitate this.

The announcement comes just weeks after the new government led by Congress took over in Karnataka. The Rs 13,600 crore project is expected to create 50,000 jobs. The minister said that Foxconn has been asked to provide the details of the skill sets it seeks in employees. 

According to the economic survey of 2022-23, Karnataka stood second as the most attractive investment destination in India, after Maharashtra. Maharashtra approved investment proposals worth Rs 3,57,393 crore in the past three years, while Karnataka approved 331 projects worth Rs 2,93,149 crore.

However, when it comes to foreign direct investment (FDI), Maharashtra comes second after Karnataka revealed the survey.

For two consecutive years, it has received more FDI than Maharashtra. In 2021-22 and 2022-23 (up to September), the FDI in the neighbouring state was recorded at Rs 1,63,795 crore and Rs 41,678 crore, which comes to a total of Rs 2,05,473 crore against Rs 1,77,389 crore in Maharashtra, it pointed out.

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