‘Delighted to see talented Indian engineers': Piyush Goyal visits Tesla factory in US but missed Elon Musk's 'magnetic presence'

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, visited Tesla’s manufacturing facility in Fremont, California on Monday, November 14, 2023. During his visit, he announced that the US electric car maker is planning to double its component imports from India. The visit comes amidst talks of the Indian govt trying to lure Tesla and other automobile makers by reducing import tariffs on EVs.  

Goyal expressed his pride in seeing the growing importance of auto component suppliers from India in the Tesla EV supply chain. He also expressed his delight in seeing Indian engineers and finance professionals working in senior positions and contributing to Tesla’s journey to transform mobility.

In a post on social media app X, Goyal stated, “Visited @Tesla’s state of the art manufacturing facility at Fremont, California. Extremely delighted to see talented Indian engineers & finance professionals working at Senior positions and contributing to Tesla’s remarkable journey to transform mobility. Also proud to see the growing importance of Auto component suppliers from India in the Tesla EV supply chain. It is on its way to double its components imports from India. Missed Mr @ElonMusk’s magnetic presence and I wish him a speedy recovery.”

Visited @Tesla’s state of the art manufacturing facility at Fremont, California.

Extremely delighted to see talented Indian engineers & finance professionals working at Senior positions and contributing to Tesla’s remarkable journey to transform mobility.

Also proud to see… pic.twitter.com/FQx1dKiDlf

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) November 14, 2023

Musk responded to Goyal's tweet saying, "It was an honor to have you visit Tesla! My apologies for not being able to travel to California today, but I look forward to meeting at a future date."

Goyal, who is on a visit to the United States from November 13 to 16, arrived in San Francisco Monday morning. He will participate in the third in-person Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) Ministerial meeting from November 13-14, 2023. During his visit, he will also attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in San Francisco.
Shortly upon his arrival in the US, Goyal met with Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Gan Kim Yong. The two leaders discussed ways to accelerate cooperation across sectors to further deepen the economic partnership between India and Singapore. Goyal shared on X, “Met H.E. Gan Kim Yong, Minister of Trade & Industry, Singapore, and discussed ways to accelerate cooperation across sectors to further deepen our economic partnership.”

Also read: Govt considering request to lower tariffs on imported EVs to lure Tesla

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