NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday that he spoke to US billionaire Elon Musk and discussed the potential for collaboration in technology and innovation.
His conversation with Musk comes days before US Vice President J D Vance is scheduled to visit India next week. This also comes in the middle of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement between India and the US.
After the conversation, Modi posted on X, “Spoke to @elonmusk and talked about various issues, including the topics we covered during our meeting in Washington DC earlier this year. We discussed the immense potential for collaboration in the areas of technology and innovation. India remains committed to advancing our partnerships with the US in these domains.”
The two had last met in February this year, when the Prime Minister visited Washington, DC to meet US President Donald Trump. After that meeting, PM Modi said that he had discussed “space, mobility, technology and innovation” and shared the experience of ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance.’
“Had a very good meeting with @elonmusk in Washington DC. 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’”, Modi posted on X on February 13.
Musk, the world’s richest man and owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and X and one who is leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), came to meet Modi with his family and children.
Musk has been leading the US administration’s efforts to cut wasteful expenditure, which has been contested and many have pointed out discrepancies. However, he enjoys outsized influence with President Trump as one of his closest confidantes. The two are often seen travelling together, and Musk has held press conferences along with Trump in the White House’s Oval Office.
Musk has significant business interests in India.
The Tesla CEO was expected to visit India last year, before the Indian national elections, but the trip was postponed at that time. Musk was expected to pledge to pump more than $2 billion into a car manufacturing facility in India, and make a statement on a longer-term investment commitment.
Musk’s India visit was postponed as his flagship company, Tesla, went through some difficulties, with sobering sales numbers resulting in falling stock market valuations.
Electric passenger car sales have been strong in India, albeit on a tiny scale. India has rolled out a policy tailored for Tesla to import 8,000 electric cars annually into the country at a sharply reduced 15 per cent duty.
India is also an important market for Musk’s X.
Days before Trump’s inauguration in January this year, Musk said India-US ties are “trending positive”, while hosting a delegation of Indian business leaders at his Starbase facility in Texas. He had highlighted his inclination to enhance trade partnership between India and the US with a special focus on technology and space exploration.
Musk has also been against the universal tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, and has frequently sparred with Trump’s advisor Peter Navarro on the utility of tariffs. This had put him at loggerheads within Trump’s inner circle. However, Trump’s decision to pause the tariffs for 90 days has been a relief for India. He has also been a backer of the H1B visa programme, which India has been a major beneficiary of. He has also had public run-ins with the far-right sections of the Republican MAGA base on the issue of the H1B visa programme.
New Delhi views him on India’s strategic side and shares many convergences with him on views, when it comes to issues of tariffs and the skilled professionals visa programme.
Agencies