After Muslim and mutton, now Musk on a new Modi phrase?

Yes, there’s a good chance Musk will use X to get his half pound of flesh in whatever deal is being struck.

And he’s certainly driving a hard bargain. Musk has got most of the concessions he wanted from India.

Till recently, the cheapest Tesla electric car in India would have cost Rs 70 lakh due to 100 percent import duty. Now this tariff has been reduced to 15 percent for those manufacturers who invest US$ 500 million to set up a manufacturing unit in India. As a result, it has been reported that a Tesla electric car imported into India could cost as much as Rs 35 lakh, even a model manufactured in India specifically for the Indian market could cost Rs 25 lakh – which is half the price of some regular luxury cars here!

And then today we have 100 percent FDI allowed in the space technology sector. This will definitely be welcomed by Musk. His company SpaceX is known for offering cheap satellite launches.

The rocket launch ecosystem in India is currently dominated by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which is also known for offering lower cost – but more frequently successful – launches. If Musk enters, it will definitely be pushed to become more ‘competitive’. What impact will this have on ISRO, will foreign companies like SpaceX and competitor Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin snatch away the skilled personnel and will ISRO be left to languish, these are the questions that have no definite answer yet.