Emphasising that the state is now focused on promoting EVs, Lokesh suggested to Tesla that Anantapur would be the ideal place for them to consider setting up manufacturing of Electric Vehicles, and battery units.
Published Oct 29, 2024 | 11:01 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 30, 2024 | 12:48 PM
Lokesh invites Tesla to set up a unit in Andhra Pradesh. (X)
Andhra Pradesh Information Technology Minister Nara Lokesh, who is on a visit to the United States, conferred with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja and Apple Vice-President Priya Bala Subrahmanyam in an attempt to get them to invest back in Andhra Pradesh.
Lokesh conferred with the Taneja at Tesla’s central office in Austin. trying to get the EV (Electric Vehicle) behemoth to invest in Andhra Pradesh. The IT minister, in his meeting with Satya Nadendla at Redmond, sought Microsoft’s cooperation for ushering in digital governance in Andhra Pradesh and helping the state emerge as an artificial intelligence (AI) capital.
He extended an invitation to him to visit Andhra Pradesh to see what a fertile ground it is for investments.
The minister suggested to Tesla to take a look at Anantapur for investing in the state.
Lokesh said that the state government under the leadership of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had set for itself a target of generating 72 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2029 and wanted Tesla to be a partner in this mission.
He recalled how hard Chandrababu Naidu had tried to promote the automobile industry in the state in his first innings in the truncated state of Andhra Pradesh which resulted in Kia and Hero investing in the state.
Emphasising that the state is now focused on promoting EVs, Lokesh suggested to Tesla that Anantapur would be the ideal place for them to consider setting up manufacturing of Electric Vehicles, and battery units.
Visited @Tesla HQ in Austin and pitched Anantapur as the perfect spot for Tesla’s EV and battery units! Had an inspiring discussion with CFO Vaibhav Taneja about transforming Andhra Pradesh into an EV manufacturing hub. Under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble CM @ncbn Garu,…
— Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) October 28, 2024
Nara Lokesh also tried to hard-sell the liberal industrial policy that Andhra Pradesh has unveiled to get investors interested in the state. He invited Tesla to consider investing in solar energy storage systems and setting up solar panels in smart cities and villages.
He said that the state was ready to help Tesla if it came forward to focus on renewable energy in pursuance of the aims of the state government in the sector. Lokesh said Tesla could play a key role in Andhra Pradesh as the state is on the verge of a take-off in setting up data centres and IT hubs that require battery storage solutions.
Lokesh further suggested that Tesla could look at partnering with the state in developing an EV charging network and in the implementation of the super-charging technology.
He invited the EV major to consider energy solutions while playing a key role in Research and Development (R&D) and innovation and suggested setting up technology parks to achieve this objective.
The CFO explained to the India delegation how Tesla had attained global leadership in EVs, clean energy solutions, and battery storage. He said that Tesla had a wide range of products in battery power storage— solar panels, solar shingles, driving innovation, power walls and so on.
Vaibhav Taneja told the delegation that Tesla, with 18.8 percent increase in growth last year, had become a company with a market capitalization of $832 billion with revenue standing at $97 billion.
Lokesh apprised Nadella of the efforts Naidu was making to take the state to the top position in the technology sector. He pointed out to him that Andhra Pradesh was emerging as a regional centre for world leaders in cloud infrastructure and data centres.
He said Andhra Pradesh has the best policy and land for the investors adding that the state intended to develop the most modern ecosystem for technology to flourish.
Lokesh explained the state government’s plan to develop Andhra Pradesh as an AI capital and sought Microsoft to partner with Andhra Pradesh in developing cloud-based platforms, application of AI in data analytics and increasing cybersecurity and giving a new thrust to smart city programmes.
He explained to Nadella how Amravati is well suited for developing an AI capital. He gave an account of how the state government was facilitating setting up an AI University.
He told Nadendla that he would have a better idea if he visited Andhra Pradesh and took a look around.
Nadella apprised Lokesh that Microsoft has emerged as a global leader in software, cloud computing and enterprise technology. He told him that Microsoft’s market capitalisation was $3.1 trillion and one of the most valuable companies in the world.
In San Francisco, Lokesh conferred with Narayen and invited Adobe to invest in the state. He suggested that Adobe set up an R&D centre in Andhra Pradesh and welcomed him to partner with the state in its smart governance and AI-driven solutions initiatives.
Lokesh also paid a visit to Apple in San Francisco and discussed the state’s USPs for investment with the company’s vice-president Priya Bala Subrahmanyam, besides extending an invitation to her to visit the state.
He explained to the Apple vice-president that Andhra Pradesh was ready to extend cooperation to Apple in setting up its units there. He suggested to her that Apple could choose one of the four electronic manufacturing clusters that the state was developing for its investments.
Lokesh detailed the plans of TCS to set up a unit in Visakhapatnam and apprised her that Andhra Pradesh has a large talent pool that could come in handy for Apple.
Lokesh pointed out the state’s liberal industrial policy and said it was in favour of investments from abroad. He said the government would allow concessions in taxes and provide incentives for global companies.
He pointed out that Andhra Pradesh would be the ideal place for Apple which is into global supply chain management.
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula)
