Tesla’s Musk likely to unveil $2-$3 billion India investment during visit, sources say

FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk attends the Breakthrough Prize awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 13, 2024. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Tesla chief Elon Musk is set to announce an investment in India of $2-$3 billion, mainly for building a new factory, when he visits New Delhi next week to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, two sources familiar with the discussions said. Musk will meet Modi on Monday during his India trip, when the billionaire is expected to unveil his plans to enter the world’s third-largest auto market where electric car adoption is still in its infancy. India’s EV market is small but growing and dominated by local carmaker Tata Motors. EVs made up just 2% of total car sales in 2023, but the government is targeting 30% of new cars to be EVs starting 2030. Musk’s visit comes as Tesla battles slowing sales in the major markets of the United States and China, and has this week announced layoffs affecting 10% of its workforce. Details of Musk’s India visit are closely-guarded, with the CEO only publicly confirming on his social media platform X that he will meet Modi in India. The two sources said Musk will likely give an investment figure for India without sharing details such as a timeline or an Indian state where the plant will be built. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. For years, Musk opposed India’s high import taxes for EVs and lobbied for a change. India’s government in March unveiled a new EV policy lowering import taxes to 15% from as high as 100% on some models if a carmaker invests at least $500 million and sets up a factory. Tesla has already started scouting for showroom space in New Delhi and Mumbai, and its Berlin factory is producing right-hand drive cars it aims to export to India starting later this year, Reuters has reported. Musk is also likely to attend an event organised by the Indian government in New Delhi with space startups, the two sources said.Musk owns U.S. space company SpaceX. Tesla’s Musk likely to unveil $2-$3 billion India investment during visit, sources say

Read More........ → April 19, 2024

Cricket-Rajasthan coach Sangakkara urges Parag not to look too far ahead

Cricket – ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 – Final – India v Australia – Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, India – November 19, 2023 General view inside the stadium during the match REUTERS/Amit Dave

With three half-centuries in five games, Rajasthan batter Riyan Parag is being tipped as a potential pick for India’s T20 World Cup squad but Royals coach Kumar Sangakkara wants the 22-year-old to stay focused on the Indian Premier League. Parag scored 76 in Rajasthan’s three-wicket loss to the Gujarat Titans on Wednesday, bringing his tally to 261 runs for the season. He is second in the race for the ‘orange cap’, awarded to the tournament’s leading scorer, behind Royal Challengers’ Virat Kohli. Sangakkara told reporters that while he did not know if Parag would be picked for the World Cup in the West Indies and United States in June the player’s performances in the IPL showed how good he could be. “That’s way beyond me, but his potential is there for everyone to see,” he added. “For him, it is about concentrating on Rajasthan and this season. “Whatever happens will happen after that. You should never get too ahead of yourself in terms of looking at things too far ahead in the future.“As long as keeps his head down, and is working very hard, batting really well. He’s very organised, he’s worked hard in the off-season. And if he continues to do that, good things will happen,” former Sri Lanka skipper Sangakkara added. Cricket-Rajasthan coach Sangakkara urges Parag not to look too far ahead

Read More........ → April 19, 2024

A Coal Billionaire Is Building the World’s Biggest Clean Energy Plant to Power 16 Million Homes in India

Bhadla Solar Park in Gujarat, seen from ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-2, satellite, will pale in comparison to Khavda when it’s completed

The Khavda solar and renewables park in a barren salt pan in India’s state of Gujarat is going to be big; really, really big.

Its aim is for 30 gigawatts—as much as the national grid of Switzerland. It will sprawl out across an area of lifeless desert five times the size of Paris costing $20 billion, and generate enough to power 16 million Indian homes.

In fact, this one renewables farm is estimated to provide 9% of the entire Indian renewable portfolio by 2070 when it finishes in a few years. The project involves solar panels, wind turbines, and battery storage.

“A region so large, a region that is so unencumbered, there’s no wildlife, there’s no vegetation, there’s no habitation. There is no better alternative use of that land,” said Sagar Adani, the executive behind all the powers and departments making the project possible.

Nephew to India’s second-richest man, Adani is the executive director of Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) a subsidiary of the Adani Group, India’s largest coal-power owner-investor.

It’s inspiring to see a family that has a net worth of $100 billion directing its resources, both corporate and personal, to a project of the scale of Khavda, which is set to be the largest renewable power plant on Earth.

The Adani Group plans to invest $100 billion into energy transition over the next decade, with 70% of the investments earmarked for clean energy, according to CNN.

In 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged that India would achieve net zero emissions by 2070, and the scale of the Khavda project is likely to be music to his ears.

India bulls see the economic future of the subcontinent as one of perhaps unprecedented growth, with 6% annualized expansion, and 600 million people entering the middle and upper-income brackets in the next 10 years alone.

Such flourishing requires energy, and the demand in the country for air conditioning alone is expected to overtake all of Africa by 2050.On such a scale, it’s unsurprising that Sagar Adani has stopped reading and calculating numbers on the Khavda plant—they’re too big and too abstract, he says, and it sounds like that’s how it ought to be if India is going to avoid the worst of 1.5°C of warming. A Coal Billionaire Is Building the World’s Biggest Clean Energy Plant to Power 16 Million Homes in India

Read More........ → March 26, 2024