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Adar Poonawalla invites Elon Musk to make Tesla EVs in India if Twitter deal fails, says 'will be your best investment'

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, has invited Elon Musk to invest in India; this invitation comes amidst reports of Tesla CEO putting brakes on his India plans.

Adar Poonawalla invites Elon Musk to make Tesla EVs in India if Twitter deal fails, says 'will be your best investment' Image for representation

Just after the reports of Elon Musk possibly putting the brakes on his plans of bringing Tesla to India. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, has invited Tesla CEO to invest in India for high-quality and large-scale production of the Tesla electric cars. Furthermore, he said if Elon Musk's Twitter buying deal doesn't go through, he can use the money for manufacturing Tesla in India.

In his tweet, Adar Poonwalla said, "Hey elonmusk, just in case you don't end up buying Twitter, do look at investing some of that capital in INDIA for high-quality, large-scale manufacturing of Tesla cars. I assure you this will be the best investment you'll ever make."

Poonawalla's suggestion comes after Musk's offer to buy Twitter for $44 billion was accepted by the Twitter board of directors. In addition, Elon Musk has been eyeing the Indian market for some time. Still, the manufacturer has declared that it has no intentions to manufacture premium electric cars in India instead of importing them from China and selling them directly to customers.

Also read: Elon Musk's India dream shattered? Tesla team moves out of country amidst duty row with Indian Govt

Musk's complete lack of interest in responding to several requests from the Indian government, particularly from Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, follows reports that the team he hired in India last year has been redirected to focus on the Middle East and larger Asia-Pacific markets.

However, earlier there have been several instances where Elon Musk was invited by the government of Indian states to set up a plant in their state. The series of invitations started with KT Rama Rao, Telangana Minister, inviting Tesla CEO, followed by ministers of other states like Maharashtra, West Bengal, Punjab and Tamil Nadu.

Moreover, During the `Raisina Dialogue 2022` last month, Gadkari said that if Musk wants to manufacture in China and sell Tesla cars here, "it cannot be a good proposition for India".

"Our request to him is to come to India and manufacture here. We have no problems. The vendors are available, we offer all kinds of technology and because of that, Musk can reduce the cost. "India is a huge market and offers good export opportunities too. Musk can export Tesla cars from India," he told the audience.

Reiterating his stand on Tesla manufacturing in India, the minister said earlier this month that if Musk comes to the country and makes Tesla cars here, that will also benefit the electric car-maker.

Earlier in February, Gadkari had said that Musk has to manufacture in India first in order to roll out Tesla cars on the roads. Asked about Tesla`s demand to cut customs duties on electric cars, Gadkari said that the country cannot appease one automobile company.

Musk had tweeted that he faced challenges from the government for releasing its products in India. "Tesla isn’t in India yet due to "Challenges with the government", he posted.

With inputs from IANS