NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he had a conversation with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk , revisiting topics from their earlier in-person meeting in Washington DC earlier this year. The two leaders spoke about bolstering collaboration between India and the United States in the areas of technology and innovation.
“Spoke to Elon Musk and talked about various issues, including the topics we covered during our meeting in Washington DC earlier this year,” PM Modi posted on social media platform X. “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,” he added.
The call comes amid growing interest from Musk’s companies - particularly Tesla and Starlink - in entering the Indian market. Tesla has been in talks with Indian officials over setting up a manufacturing base in the country. Meanwhile, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio in March had announced a pact with Musk's SpaceX to bring Starlink satellite internet services in India. Telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal's Bharti Airtel has also signed a similar partnership deal with SpaceX.
PM Modi and Musk had previously met in February during PM’s two-day state visit to the US, where both sides expressed optimism about future cooperation in emerging sectors such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, and space.
During the meeting, the PM had presented books to Elon Musk’s three children. He had gifted them The Crescent Moon by Rabindranath Tagore, The Great RK Narayan Collection, and Panchatantra by Pandit Vishnu Sharma. He later shared photos that show the kids reading the books.
PM Modi had shared a post on social media addressed to Elon Musk where he wrote, “Had a very good meeting with Elon Musk 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’.”
The PM Modi-Musk call comes at a crucial juncture when permission for Starlink is stuck for security clearance. It also comes against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations for a proposed bilateral trade agreement between New Delhi and Washington.
The two sides have aimed at finalising the first phase of the pact by fall (September-October) this year.
Meanwhile, the government has already granted license to Startlink rivals Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications for about one-and-a-half years for providing satellite internet services.
However, these companies are yet to start their operation as the government has so far not finalised spectrum allocation rules.
Starlink is considered to be a disruptor in this segment as it operates the world's biggest constellation of over 6,750 satellites whereas Eutelsat OneWeb has little over 600 satellites and Jio's satellite partners operate nearly 70.
“Spoke to Elon Musk and talked about various issues, including the topics we covered during our meeting in Washington DC earlier this year,” PM Modi posted on social media platform X. “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,” he added.
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…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 18, 2025
The call comes amid growing interest from Musk’s companies - particularly Tesla and Starlink - in entering the Indian market. Tesla has been in talks with Indian officials over setting up a manufacturing base in the country. Meanwhile, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio in March had announced a pact with Musk's SpaceX to bring Starlink satellite internet services in India. Telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal's Bharti Airtel has also signed a similar partnership deal with SpaceX.
PM Modi and Musk had previously met in February during PM’s two-day state visit to the US, where both sides expressed optimism about future cooperation in emerging sectors such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, and space.
During the meeting, the PM had presented books to Elon Musk’s three children. He had gifted them The Crescent Moon by Rabindranath Tagore, The Great RK Narayan Collection, and Panchatantra by Pandit Vishnu Sharma. He later shared photos that show the kids reading the books.
PM Modi had shared a post on social media addressed to Elon Musk where he wrote, “Had a very good meeting with Elon Musk 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’.”
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.’ pic.twitter.com/7xNEqnxERZ
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 13, 2025
The PM Modi-Musk call comes at a crucial juncture when permission for Starlink is stuck for security clearance. It also comes against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations for a proposed bilateral trade agreement between New Delhi and Washington.
The two sides have aimed at finalising the first phase of the pact by fall (September-October) this year.
Meanwhile, the government has already granted license to Startlink rivals Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications for about one-and-a-half years for providing satellite internet services.
However, these companies are yet to start their operation as the government has so far not finalised spectrum allocation rules.
Starlink is considered to be a disruptor in this segment as it operates the world's biggest constellation of over 6,750 satellites whereas Eutelsat OneWeb has little over 600 satellites and Jio's satellite partners operate nearly 70.
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