Musk’s India relationship moves beyond talk
2025-07-17 07:42:22
Hi, this is Spriha Srivastava, CEO of CNBC International, written from London. This week, I look at Elon Musk’s relationship with India, and why is it finally transferred from the conversation to work, and what is really at stake.
This report from the newsletter “inside India” in CNBC for this week. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
The big story
India has long been on the radar of Elon Musk. But for years, the relationship often played in the headlines and a half.
Remember 2024? Musk was all assigned to travel to New Delhi to meet with Prime Minister Moody – until he was canceled at the last minute and appeared in Beijing instead.
However, let’s back down here. Tesla indicated a serious interest in the Indian market in 2021, only to raise its plans when negotiations stopped on import duties. Starlink, the Musk Satellite Internet project, started taking pre -orders in 2021, but was forced to stop after the organizational obstacles forced the company to issue recovered sums. For the best part of the past decade, Musk’s India’s aspirations have been – aspirations.
This has finally started to change.
The last weeks were interesting to the Musk-INDIA relationship. Tesla opened the first showroom in the Bandra Corla complex in Mumbai. Starlink receives the necessary organizational approval to launch commercial services in India. All of this comes a few weeks after Musk publicly starts from US President Donald Trump, which represents a broader shift in his global strategy.
Elon Musk meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Blair House in Washington, DC, USA on February 13, 2025.
Anadolu Anadolu Gety pictures
So why sudden momentum?
On one level, India Musk offers a new runway for growth at a time when its relations in China and the United States have become more complex. For the government of India, attracting investment from one of the world’s prominent entrepreneurs is a victory that is fully compatible with the aspirations of “Make in India” in the country, especially in clean technology and digital infrastructure. But while the main headlines swing, the reality on the ground shows that things are in the early stages only.
Let’s take a look at the current Tesla position in India. The idea is not the hegemony of the collective market, at least not yet. It is related to the cultivation of science in the excellent part. The world’s most popular Tesla landed in Tesla in the world, in India, at a price of approximately 7 million rupees (about $ 79,000). To put it in the right quorum, the best -selling cars in India cost a small part of it. India is not a market that suits everyone. In addition to its broad -value market, there is an increasing luxury sector where global brands are competing with attention. BMW, Mercedes and Audi are expanding electric car shows in India, and Tesla now joined Fray.
Mumbai’s showroom is just the first step. The new policy framework in India reduces the import duties of companies ready to manufacture locally. In fact, in April 2024, Tesla was said to have started exploring the sites of a possible EV factory in India, with an investment of up to $ 3 billion. This would have been a fundamental shift, and it might open the door to Ev models more easily, which enhances the activity of the supply chain and create new functions. But now, it is a slow construction, not an enemy.
Then there is a shipping challenge. EV in India is different from this in other markets. Binary and three wheels dominate the electric scene of cars, most of which are charged at home using standard outlets. For this reason, India has not yet developed in the infrastructure, sprawling, sprawling, parties it sees in China or the United States
For other buyers in Tesla, though, fast charging is not negotiable. They expect comfort, and this means that Tesla will need to invest extensively in public shipping devices, especially in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bangaluru, where the demand is likely to focus. Tesla began to employ these roles in India, but creating this network will take time.
Lift
Besides EV’s batch, the entry of Starlink to India can be a completely different market: rural internet. Cheap mobile phone data has fueled the internet boom in India over the past decade, but rural areas are still deprived, especially in areas where exorbitant fibers are expensive and logistical challenge. Starlink solution is to move the Internet directly from space, transgressing those obstacles.
However: the satellite Internet is not cheap. Starlink usually cost up to $ 100 per month, which is much more than that most Indian consumers pay for the Internet. This indicates that the real play here is government contracts, partnerships with rural schools, health care providers and remote companies that need contact regardless of the cost. According to Starlink with communications giants such as Reliance Jio and Bharti Aartel to distribute its service, indicating a cooperative approach instead of an introductory approach.
The timing of all this is also interesting. The Musk axis comes to India after its general repercussions with Trump in June, after disputes over definitions and subsidies. Whether these two matters are directly linked to discussion, but it is difficult to ignore the coincidence. At least, it is part of a broader international diversification strategy, which transmits it beyond the political intertwining of its American relationships.
For Indian consumers, the arrival of Tesla and Starlink means new technological options, although currently, primarily target rich rural slices and needed. For investors, Musk’s India plays increasing signals in the long -term growth story in the country. As Global Tech and EV GIANTS are monitored from side lines, MUSK’s success can be the beginning of a new wave of foreign investment in India.
Musk talked about India for years. The difference this time? The foundation is placed. The next few months will appear if this is the beginning of something that lasts, or just another separation in a complex relationship, stopping.
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In the market
Indian markets were trading less on Thursday.
Standard Elegant 50 It decreased by 0.12 %, while the BSE Sensex Index decreased by 0.16 % as of 12:15 pm local time (2:45 am Each time).
Indian government bonds revenue for 10 years decreased marginally at 6.308 %.
– Amal Balakishner
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