New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with American billionaire Elon Musk Thursday in Washington DC, hours before meeting US President Donald Trump.
Modi posted on X that they talked about space, technology, and “good governance”. Musk, a close ally of Trump and owner of SpaceX and Tesla—both of which have huge business interests in India—now heads America’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a White House team tasked with cutting federal spending.
Photos released from the event also gave mixed signals about the exact nature of the meeting, though the national flags set-up in the background commonly happens when the US President is meeting other heads of state.
Musk’s three children accompanied him, as did his partner and director of Trump’s brain-chip start-up Neuralink, Shivon Zilis. Two of the children, Azure and Strider, were of the couple, while the third, X, is with Musk’s ex-partner Grimes.
Following his meeting, Modi wrote on Musk’s social media app X, “We discussed various issues, including those he is passionate about such as space, mobility, technology and innovation… I talked about India’s efforts towards reform and furthering ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’.”
The Ministry of External Affairs said their discussion “touched on opportunities to deepen cooperation in emerging technologies, entrepreneurship and good governance”. The MEA’s press release described the meeting as between ‘Head of US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)’ and the prime minister.
When asked if Modi was meeting Musk as a CEO or as a representative of the US government, Trump said he didn’t know in which capacity Musk met Modi—he told reporters that he would ask Modi about it.
“I assume he (Elon Musk) wants to do business in India. But India is a very hard place to do business in because of the tariffs,” Trump told reporters. “I would imagine he met, possibly, because you know he’s running a company.”
Musk met Modi at Blair House, the US President’s guest house, with his three young children in tow. Modi was accompanied by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra.
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Musk’s business interests in India
The meeting between Modi and Musk was significant because SpaceX’s Starlink has been facing an uphill battle in India. There’s been speculation that the meeting would also cover Starlink’s entry into India, but no formal statement has been given on this.
India is a key market for Starlink, but its entry has been delayed due to regulatory challenges, security concerns, and opposition from domestic telecom players, including Mukesh Ambani, over the spectrum allocation for satellite-based internet services. Starlink’s application for a licence is still under review.
There have also been security concerns. In December 2024, Starlink devices were seized by the Indian government after usage was detected in armed conflict zones, while another Starlink device was linked to drug smuggling.
Incidentally, state visits by Modi have preceded big business deals on technology and space before. In 2023, India signed the Artemis Accords on guidelines for modern space activities following a meeting between then-President Joe Biden and Modi in Washington DC. Modi and Musk have met several times before—in 2015, Musk even gave Modi a personal tour of the Tesla facility in San Jose.
Democrats angry
The meeting drew sharp criticism from Democrats in the US, who’ve accused Musk of interfering with governance and are worried that the billionaire’s influence on Trump poses a significant conflict of interest to the administration.
“Musk is effectively operating as the Secretary of State, and he is meeting with a key foreign leader not to ask for concessions that would benefit Americans, but for concessions that would make him rich,” wrote Senator Chris Murphy on X.
Photos released from the event showed Modi’s top advisers on his side of the room—including Jaishankar, Doval, and Ambassador Kwatra. On Musk’s side of the room sat his children.
Modi also shared several photos of him interacting with Musk’s children during the meeting. He reportedly gifted the children three books—Rabindranath Tagore’s The Crescent Moon, Panchatantra, and The Great RK Narayan Collection. Musk gave Modi a piece of a “heat shield tile” from one of SpaceX’s Starship flights.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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