K'taka invites Musk, terms state as "the destination" for investments in India

BENGALURU: The Congress-led Karnataka government has extended an invitation to business magnate Elon Musk to set up businesses in the southern state.

Karnataka's Minister for Commerce and Industries, Infrastructure MB Patil, in a Twitter post, wrote his state Karnataka is the "ideal destination" for Tesla's expansion into India.

"If Tesla considers setting up a plant in India, Karnataka, with its great potential and capabilities, I must say is The Destination," he added.

"As a progressive state and a thriving hub of innovation and technology, Karnataka stands ready to support and provide the necessary facilities for Tesla and other ventures of Elon Musk, including Starlink," Patil wrote, tagging Musk's Twitter handle. Karnataka, Patil said, is focused on being the hub for technology and manufacturing 5.0, to propel the state for the next decades.

Meanwhile, during the ongoing State visit to the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Tesla and Twitter chief Elon Musk and invited him to explore opportunities in India for investments in electric mobility and the rapidly expanding commercial space sector. Speaking to reporters after meeting with PM Modi, Musk, who is also CEO of SpaceX, said he was incredibly excited about the future of India and added that India has more promise than any large country in the world.

"I am tentatively planning to visit India again next year. I am looking forward to it," Musk added. Musk, responding to questions from reporters, said he was confident that his car company Tesla will be in India "as soon as humanly possible".

"I would like to thank PM Modi for his support and hopefully, we will be able to announce something in the not-too-distant future." To a question on when Tesla will be in India, Musk said, "We don't want to jump the gun with an announcement but it's quite likely that there will be a significant investment for India in the future."

In a quick counter question by reporters asking what changed his mind about Tesla's investments in India, he smilingly said, "I have never changed my mind". Tesla is reportedly expected to announce the location of its new factory by the end of 2023.

Further, Musk also showed interest in bringing his Starlink services to India. Starlink is a satellite-based internet services provider which is operated by Musk's company SpaceX. India intends to leverage the space sector's potential by inviting private players into the field.