Navjot Sidhu invites Elon Musk to invest in Ludhiana amid Tesla's negotiation with Centre

To retain power in 2022 Punjab Polls, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Navjot Singh Sidhu has kept his nose to the grindstone and has invoked space and tech industry tycoon Elon Musk and invited him to set up Tesla’s unit in Punjab’s Ludhiana. 

Amid the ongoing negotiations between the central government and Tesla CEO Elon Musk for launching Tesla’s electric vehicles in India, PPCC chief Navjot Sidhu on Sunday seized the opportunity to invite Musk to set up a unit in Punjab’s Ludhiana. In a tweet, Sidhu went on to say that under Congress’ Punjab Model, Ludhiana will become a hub for the ‘Electric Vehicles & Battery Industry.’

Navjot Sidhu's bid to persuade Tesla ahead of Punjab elections

To induce tech giant, he further went on to say that Punjab will offer a time-bound, single-window clearance for the technological investment in the state. He also referred that Punjab will be happy to invite the company that ‘create green jobs, walking the path of environment preservation and sustainable development.’

In the tweet, Punjab Congress President wrote, ‘I invite @elonmusk, Punjab Model will create Ludhiana as a hub for Electric Vehicles & Battery industry with time-bound single window clearance for investment that brings new technology to Punjab, create green jobs, walking path of environment preservation & sustainable development.’

This comes after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed that the company is facing a "lot of challenges" in bringing the company to India. While responding to a Twitter user who asked Musk - when will Tesla arrive in India, he remarked that Tesla is working through several challenges with the government of India in order to debut its cars on Indian land. 

Tesla wants import duty cut but doesn't want to manufacture in India: Govt sources 

While Indian government sources retaliated to Musk’s claim and stated that Tesla wants a cut on the import duty, while doesn’t promise to set up factories in India to manufacture its car & other products in India. However, Sidhu is not the only politician who has tried to persuade Tesla CEO, Telangana’s Industry and Commerce Minister KT Rama Rao, who has also pitched a proposal to him to invest his technology in Telangana. 

In response to Tesla’s tweet, KT Rama Rao said that he will be happy in partnering with Tesla to work on the challenges faced by the company in India. Rao wrote, "Hey Elon, I am the Industry and Commerce Minister of Telangana state in India Will be happy to partner Tesla in working through the challenges to set shop in India/Telangana Our state is a champion in sustainability initiatives and a top-notch business destination in India."

Image: AP/ PTI