Vivek Wadhwa, an Indian-American academic, entrepreneur, and author, recently took to social media to express his views on Elon Musk’s decision not to consider moving Tesla’s manufacturing operations to India. .
Wadhwa said in his post that Musk will be the “biggest loser” because of his choices.
“The biggest loser here will be Elon. A few years ago, I exchanged emails with him about the risks in China. I warned them they would rob him blind and instead sent manufacturing to India. It now dominates the market.”
Wadhwa revealed that he advised Elon Musk to explore manufacturing in India rather than China.
He had warned that China was not a favorable environment and could be exploited by Tesla.
This comes after Musk canceled his planned visit to India, during which he was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and announce investments worth $3 billion.
Instead, Musk made a surprise visit to China shortly thereafter.
Theresa Fallon, director of the Russia, Europe and Asia Research Center, has previously said that U.S. and European automakers face challenges in China due to short-term strategies that involve sharing critical technology and knowledge. was.
Fallon emphasized that this approach ultimately led to Chinese companies catching up and even overtaking foreign competitors in the auto industry.
According to a CNBC report cited by Fallon, the changes will allow Chinese companies such as BYD, Geely Automobile and Great Wall to expand globally, while foreign ventures such as Jeep’s joint venture in China will lose funding. He is said to be facing difficulties.
The report highlighted that foreign companies initially benefited from operations in China, helping local partners learn essential skills for car manufacturing.
However, Chinese companies are now producing new models faster and at lower cost, effectively catering to local consumers’ preferences for Chinese brands.
Elon Musk’s unexpected visit to China yielded positive results, including discussions on Tesla’s fully self-driving (FSD) software and cooperation with major companies such as Baidu on data sharing and mapping services.
Despite Musk’s explanation that he canceled the India trip because he was bound by obligations to Tesla, his subsequent trip to China raised eyebrows.
In China, Musk’s meeting with Li Qiang and support from influential groups for Tesla’s compliance with data security regulations could ease Tesla’s entry into the restricted Chinese market.
Musk suggested that local competitors such as XPeng and Huawei Technologies are also advancing their own self-driving technology, and that Tesla’s FSD software will soon be released in China.
