Industries minister MB Patil invites Tesla to invest in Karnataka

BENGALURU: Two days after Tesla CEO Elon Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US, and said that he is “incredibly excited about the future of India”, Large and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil has extended an invitation to Tesla to set up a plant in Karnataka.

In a tweet, minister Patil wrote, #Karnataka: The Ideal Destination for #Tesla’s Expansion into #India. As a #progressive state & a thriving hub of #innovation & #technology, Karnataka stands ready to support and provide the necessary facilities for Tesla and other ventures of @elonmusk, including #Starlink.

#Karnataka: The Ideal Destination for #Tesla's Expansion into #India

As a #progressive state & a thriving hub of #innovation & #technology, Karnataka stands ready to support and provide the necessary facilities for Tesla and other ventures of @elonmusk, including #Starlink.… pic.twitter.com/XUBk4c1Cnw

— M B Patil (@MBPatil) June 23, 2023

“Karnataka is focused on being the Hub for Technology and #Manufacturing 5.0, to propel the state for the next 2 decades. If Tesla considers setting up a plant in India, Karnataka, with its great potential and capabilities, I must say is “The Destination”. @CMofKarnataka and I extend our invitation to Tesla in words and spirit”, he noted.

While many netizens reacted to the minister’s post on his Twitter timeline welcoming the move, some suggested that Tesla should set up its plant preferably in north Karnataka, away from Bengaluru and Mysuru. There were also others who brought up the issue of high power tariffs and asked to safeguard local industry. A few others also raised the Amul issue to question why he was inviting a foreign company while he was opposed to the homegrown dairy products major.