The one thing Elon Musk, Ray Dalio, Apple and Goldman Sachs agree on: India

• Some of the biggest names in global investing and business are hailing India as the next big investment destination.
• The nation's booming tech scene, buoyant stock market, and youthful population are just some of the factors going for it.

After China's rise as an economic powerhouse over the past few decades, some of the biggest names in business and investing are now pointing to another Asian nation as the next big investment destination: India.

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio has said the country is ready for rapid growth, while Elon Musk has highlighted the prospect of Tesla building a factory there. Apple CEO Tim Cook has also voiced his optimism toward India, while Goldman Sachs predicts the South Asian economy to surpass the US in size by 2075.

Factors seen favoring India's economy in the coming years include a large and relatively youthful population, a vibrant stock market, and the nation's strong tech industry, according to experts.

India recently surpassed China as the world's most populous country. The nation's benchmark stock indexes Sensex and Nifty 50 hit record highs this month.

From billionaire entrepreneurs to Wall Street banks, all eyes are on India. Here's a closer look at their comments, projections and plans.

Elon Musk

Musk has been eyeing India for over two years now. Back in 2021, the Tesla CEO said he was "quite likely" to build an electric-vehicle factory in the country, but only if government officials lowered import fees for completed vehicles.

"If Tesla is able to succeed with imported vehicles, then a factory in India is quite likely," Musk had said on Twitter at the time. He added: "We want to do so, but import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country!"

Fast forward to 2023, and Musk is starting to see those visions move closer to reality. After meeting Indian prime minister Narendra Modi last month, the billionaire entrepreneur said the EV maker would establish its presence in the country "as soon as humanly possible."

Tesla is eyeing the South Asian nation to build a factory producing a debut $24,000 car, Reuters reported this week. Sources told the outlet that Musk is set to meet Indian government representatives to discuss a new Tesla plant this month.

Ray Dalio

According to the billionaire investor, India is primed to be the next big global investing opportunity, especially as tensions between Washington and Beijing worsen.

"I am pleased to be able to help PM Modi as he is a man whose time has come when India's time has also come," Dalio said in a tweet. "He and India are in an analogous position to Deng Xiaoping and China in the early 1980s – i.e., at the brink of the fastest growth rates and biggest transformations in the world," he added.

"The challenges both between and within China and the US are putting PM Modi in a unique position to influence the complexion of the world order via influencing the non-aligned world's dealings with these two leading world powers," the Bridgewater Associates continued.

Mark Mobius

Legendary emerging-markets investor Mark Mobius recently hailed India as the "real future."

Mobius cited India's high growth rate — GDP growth is expected to come in at 7.2% for the financial year that ended on March 31 — for his bullishness.

"A rule of thumb is that if the country has a 7% growth rate, then a reasonably good company should be able to double that," he told Bloomberg.

Goldman Sachs

The Wall Street bank attracted much attention recently when it forecast India's economy to surpass the US by 2075, to become the world's second-largest after China.

Goldman Sachs expects the South Asian nation's GDP to surge to $52.5 trillion by then, from $3.4 trillion at the end of 2022. That compares with forecasts of $57 trillion and $51.5 trillion for China and the US, respectively. That's thanks to a booming tech scene, rising capital investments and a growing population.

Apple

India's economic potential has also lured interest from Big Tech.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously voiced confidence in the country, once telling investors he's "very,very bullish and very, very optimistic about India," back in 2017.

His sanguineness toward India has seen Apple open its first two stores in the country earlier this year. He's also noted that India's youthful demographic and growing middle class translates into higher appetite for advanced and expensive tech.