Donald Trump has issued a withering three-word verdict on Elon Musk’s possible plans to build a Tesla factory in India, saying “it’s very unfair”.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the SpaceX founder Mr Musk during a visit to Washington at the invitation of President Trump earlier this month.
The exact nature of the meeting between the Indian leader and the tech billionaire was unclear, although Mr Modi said on X that the two men “discussed various issues, including those he is passionate about such as space, mobility, technology and innovation”.
Last year India unveiled a new electric vehicle (EV) policy, lowering taxes on imports to 15% if a car maker invests at least $500 million (around £400 million) to set up a factory.
Indian news site, New Delhi Television, reports President Trump was asked by reporters his thoughts about Mr Musk’s possibly following up on the Indian car maker incentive. Mr Trump said: “Now, if he built the factory in India, that’s okay, but that’s unfair to us. It’s very unfair.”
Mr Musk has been dubbed the ‘First Buddy” for his remarkably close friendship with the American president, who recently made the entrepreneur the head of the new US Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Although there has been no official confirmation of any Tesla factory plans in India, when Prime Minister Modi and Mr Musk met each other in New York in 2023, Mr Musk said at the time he was “confident that Tesla will be in India … as soon as humanly possible”.
At a joint press conference with Prime Minister Modi at the White House this month, President Trump said he wasn’t sure why Mr Musk met the Indian prime minister but he assumed Musk “wants to do business in India”.
Mr Trump told reporters: “I would imagine he met, possibly, because you know he’s running a company.”
India’s foreign ministry in a statement said Mr Modi and Mr Musk “discussed strengthening collaboration between Indian and US entities in innovation, space exploration, artificial intelligence and sustainable development” and on “entrepreneurship and good governance”.
Mr Musk, who previously called himself a “fan of Modi,” has long wanted his Starlink satellite internet service to make an entry into the Indian market.
Its launch, however, has been delayed due to regulatory challenges, security concerns and opposition from domestic telecom giants like Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio.
