Elon Musk sparks controversy after postponing India visit

• Musk was expected to meet space startups and business leaders.
• Postponement of visit comes ahead of major elections in India.
  
• Last year, Musk had revealed plans to visit India in 2024.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reportedly postponed his much-anticipated visit to India, according to CNBC-TV18 citing sources familiar with the development. 

The immediate reasons for the postponement are not known as yet, Business Today reported.

Musk was scheduled to visit India on April 21 and 22 to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and announce plans to enter the Indian market. 

Earlier this month, Musk, 52, announced that he would soon visit the country and meet with PM Modi, 73, garnering much attention worldwide.

In a post on X, formally known as Twitter, he wrote: “Looking forward to meeting with Prime Minister @NarendraModi in India."

Many suspected that the tech billionaire might be visiting India to propose setting up manufacturing facilities for Tesla in the country as people linked his tweet to a notification from the Union government from a few weeks ago.

The notification was about a new electric vehicle manufacturing policy that allows the government to give duty concessions to electric car companies committing to make in India.

According to the earlier proposed plan, the Tesla CEO was supposed to be in India for 48 hours, meeting the PM, space startups and business leaders.

Musk was expected to engage in discussions with startups at Bharat Mandapam, an exhibition hall.

However, it's uncertain whether the Starlink agreement will be finalised during this trip as sources said the final nod from India's Ministry of Home Affairs is still awaited.

The postponement of the tech mogul’s visit comes ahead of major elections in the country with Modi likely to win.

With the model code of conduct in place, a formal announcement on Starlink may not happen, according to Business Today.

The SpaceX CEO previously met with Modi in June last year during the PM’s visit to the US where Musk had revealed plans to visit India in 2024, while expressing confidence that his electric vehicle company will enter the Indian market soon.