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Tesla’s Musk snubs India with ‘shock’ China visit. But was it ‘shoddy ethics or simply business?’
- Musk was to meet India PM Modi last week and announce an investment of up to US$3 billion in a car plant, but cancelled, due to ‘very heavy Tesla obligations’
- On Sunday, Musk turned up in Beijing, meeting with Premier Li Qiang and making progress towards rolling out an advanced driver assistance package in China
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Elon Musk’s surprise visit to China this week won concessions for Tesla, but left India feeling spurned after he cancelled a scheduled trip there for earlier this month, with Indian commentators calling the move a snub.
India’s pained reaction highlights the increasing rivalry between India and China, Asia’s two largest countries by population and among the region’s most dynamic economies. Business and diplomatic relations between them have been strained since a 2020 border clash left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead.
Musk was due to meet India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week and announce an investment of up to US$3 billion in a car plant, but cancelled, saying there were “very heavy Tesla obligations”. By then, the Indian government had sent out invites for a start-up event Musk was to attend.
On Sunday, Musk turned up in China, meeting with Premier Li Qiang and making progress towards rolling out its advanced driver assistance package in the world’s biggest auto market.
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Indian news channels that often take a hard line position against China blasted Musk’s trip.
The Mirror Now news channel ran a prime time news segment with a tagline “Shoddy ethics or simply business?” with the anchor saying “Here in India, everybody was shocked.”
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Digital news service News9 ran a segment late on Monday on Musk, saying “Hello China, Goodbye India?” It then flashed on the screen, “VERY HEAVY TESLA OBLIGATIONS? China visit a week after cancelling India”.
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