According to people familiar with the preparations, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will visit Tesla CEO Elon Musk in the United States next week to discuss the American automaker's plan to enter the South Asian market.

The meeting between Goyal and Musk will be the most public since Tesla CEO Elon Musk met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June and later stated his desire to make big investments in India.

According to one of the two sources, discussions between Musk and Goyal in the United States would centre on Tesla's aspirations to construct an Indian factory, manufacture a $24,000 car there, source more components, and establish charging infrastructure across the country.

A discussion of a new policy India is working on, which will allow automakers to import completely manufactured EVs into India at a 15% tax rate, down from as high as 100% presently, if they commit to some local manufacturing, is also expected.

This meeting will verify that talks between India and Tesla "are moving in the right direction," according to the source. Tesla and India's commerce ministry did not respond to calls for comment.

Tesla and India have been in negotiations for several months, with the American automaker interested in establishing a factory but also in lowering import taxes on some of its high-end models. According to a third source, Prime Minister Modi's office met with key departments on Monday to hasten the new EV policy.

According to a third source, the government is also studying the impact of the new policy on the Indian EV sector, as local automakers have frequently stated that lower EV import duties could disrupt the market and harm their plans.

Tesla attempted to join India in 2021, urging officials to drop the 100% import tariff on EVs, but the talks fell down last year when officials stated that the business would have to first commit to local manufacture.