The minister is on a four-day visit to the USA.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday visited US electric vehicle major Tesla’s manufacturing facility in Fremont, California and highlighted India’s role in contributing to Tesla’s remarkable journey. During his visit, he interacted with Indian engineers and finance professionals, but missed Elon Musk’s “magnetic presence.”
In particular, the Twitter boss was unable to meet the minister in person because he was unwell. Responding to Mr. Goyal’s post on his visit to the Tesla factory, the billionaire expressed his honor to have the minister visiting and said that he looked forward to a future meeting.
“I visited @Tesla’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Fremont, California. I am delighted to see talented Indian engineers and finance professionals working in senior positions and contributing to Tesla’s remarkable journey to transform mobility,” wrote Mr. Goyal, sharing images from his visit to Tesla’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Fremont.
Check out the pictures here:
Visited @Tesla‘s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Fremont, California.
We are excited to see talented Indian engineers and finance professionals working in leadership roles and contributing to Tesla’s remarkable mobility transformation journey.
Also proud to see… pic.twitter.com/FQx1dKiDlf
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) November 14, 2023
“I am also proud to see the growing importance of auto component suppliers from India in the Tesla electric vehicle supply chain. The company is on track to double its component imports from India. I missed the magnetic presence of Mr. @ElonMusk and wish him a speedy recovery,” Mr. Goyal said on social networking platform X.
In response, Mr Musk tweeted: “It was an honor to visit you at Tesla!” “I’m sorry I can’t travel to California today, but I look forward to meeting at a later date.”
It was an honor to visit you at Tesla!
I’m sorry I can’t travel to California today, but I look forward to meeting at a later date.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 14, 2023
According to sources cited by Portal, Tesla is actively seeking to set up an Indian factory with the aim of producing a $24,000 car in the country.
The visit assumes significance as India is reportedly considering offering tariff concessions to Tesla to set up a factory in the country. In September, Mr. Goyal said the company planned to source about $1.9 billion worth of components from India this year, up from $1 billion in 2022.
In August 2021, Elon Musk said that Tesla might set up a manufacturing facility in India if it first achieved success with imported vehicles in the country. He had said that Tesla wanted to launch its vehicles in India, “but the import duties are by far the highest in the world of any major country!”