Driving ambition Musk leverages his Washington role to take Tesla to India

It is easy to believe that Elon Musk's reach knows no limits.

- Hannah Ellis-Petersen

But while the world's richest man may control a space satellite empire, own one of the largest social media platforms, produce the world's bestselling electric car and been given carte blanche by Donald Trump, the US president, to gut the government, there is one market that he has yet to crack: India.

But with his newfound influence over the Trump administration and global geopolitics, it appears likely that Musk's entrance into the Indian market, both with his Tesla electric cars and his Starlink satellite internet, could now be smoother and faster.

When the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, met Trump in Washington earlier this month, he sat down privately with Musk, where, according to the Indian government, they discussed "strengthening collaboration between Indian and US entities in innovation, space exploration, artificial intelligence, and sustainable development".

Trump, however, put it more bluntly: "I assume he [Musk] wants to do business in India."

Until now, India's tariffs of up to 110% on imported electric vehicles have prevented Tesla from entering the fast-growing Indian market. However, Musk pledged last year that Tesla would be in India "as soon as humanly possible" - and following his recent encounter with Modi, it seems he is now keen to make that a reality.

Tesla has already begun advertising for jobs both in Mumbai and Delhi, and has signed a lease on a showroom in Mumbai.

Tesla could take advantage of a new Indian government scheme lowering import tariffs on electric vehicles to 15% if they commit to investing $500m within three years in a factory that will manufacture them. However, the tax break only applies to the first 8,000 vehicles, a limit Tesla is likely to push back on.