Musk, Modi talk of powering rural India with Tesla tech

Innovations such as the Powerwall, which is a long-term storage device for solar energy, might come to India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Silicon Valley-based electric car manufacturer Tesla largely revolved renewable energy and storage technologies which can be game changing in serving the energy needs of undeserved rural regions of India.

Discussions between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the Prime Minister largely revolved around bringing innovations as the company’s Powerwall, which is a long-term storage device for solar energy, to India.

"Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Prime Minister Modi discussed Tesla's developments in battery technology, energy storage, and renewable energy and the positive implications of this innovation for India," Tesla spokesman Ricardo Reyes told PTI.

During Modi’s hour-long visit to Tesla’s headquarters, company representatives showed off some of the new technologies they were working on in the fields of renewable energy and zero-emissions transportation.

While the commercial feasibility of bringing devices such as 'Powerwall' to India immediately are ruled out due to its high cost, the general consensus was that once the prices of those batteries start dropping, India will be able to use them more effectively.

Apart from meeting with Elon Musk, the Prime Minister also met with Apple CEO Tim Cook, urging him to look at manufacturing in India, especially since the company’s largest contract manufacturer Foxconn already has a substantial presence in the country.


Cook seemed keen on developing the app ecosystem for iOS out of India given its prowess in software and large developer base. The two also discussed the scope of using Apple’s payment system Apple Pay in initiatives such as India’s Jan Dhan Yojana.