Elon Musk’s India visit in limbo, could Donald Trump’s win boost Tesla entry into India?

After Donald Trump was declared the new President of the United States of America, shares of Elon Musk's companies began soaring based on the tech billionaire's close association with the Republican nominee's presidential campaign, according to an AFP report.

Trump in his victory speech generously praised Musk as a “genius”, stating: “We have a new star, a star is born: Elon. He's an amazing guy. He's a character, he's a special guy, he's a super genius,” Trump said.

Investor Expectations High

Much to investors' delight, Tesla shares jumped over 15 per cent at $289.44 in after-hours deals before the opening bell on Wall Street.

“Tesla shares are rising ... due to his special ties with Donald Trump,” Andrea Tueni, analyst at Saxobank, told AFP, addind that “Trump owes him a lot and investors are betting that their closeness will turn into something positive for Tesla”.

Musk Role In Trump Office

In previous indications on the matter, Musk has claimed that he can chop off around $2 trillion from the United States government's federal budget, as per a Bloomberg report.

Notably, Trump has said that if re-elected he would assigned to Musk, the so-called ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ — which would look at ways to cut government spending, Bloomberg reported. Interestingly, it is abbreviated to ‘DOGE’ in reference to the cryptocurrency Musk has often touted on social media.

The Bloomberg said that as per federal findings, Musk has spent at least $132 million to elect Trump and other Republicans in 2024, launching himself to the party's “upper echelon”.

What About Musk's India Visit?

It is yet to be seen if Musk's abandoned attempts to enter the Indian electric vehicle (EV) market could also get a boost with Trump's win. 

In May 2024, the Tesla CEO cancelled his visit to India citing “heavy obligations” and said he plans to visit the country later this year. This has not yet happened. 

“Unfortunately, very heavy Tesla obligations require that the visit to India be delayed, but I do very much look forward to visiting later this year," Musk wrote on his social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).

It is worth mentioning that Musk was set to make some big announcements about the $2-3 billion EV factory in India and some developments related to Starlink. He was also expected to meet executives from several space startups in Delhi.

However, amid falling profit margins, Tesla's attempts are to utilise its existing factories to build new and more affordable vehicles and this could may lead to further delays in investments in new factories in Mexico and India.

It remains to be seen if Trump continues his anti-China stance — during his previous term as President he imposed sanctions on the country — and if this leads to Musk looking for greener pastures elsewhere i.e India.

(With inputs from Agencies)