This comes at a time when Musk-owned EV maker Tesla and satcom operator Starlink are looking to foray into India

Earlier in the day, PM Modi met US’ director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and discussed enhancing intelligence cooperation in cybersecurity and emerging threats

Last month, Musk, considered to be close to US President Trump, met Indian founders and business executives at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day trip to the US, met Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk on Thursday (February 13).

In a post on X, PM Modi said that the two discussed various issues to space, mobility, technology and innovation.

“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’,” said PM Modi.

In a separate post, the PM also said that he met Musk’s family members during the meeting.

This followed PM Modi’s meeting with US’ director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, during which the two leaders discussed enhancing intelligence cooperation in areas such as cybersecurity and emerging threats.

PM Modi will meet US President Donald Trump during a White House dinner later in the day.

The meeting with PM Modi comes a month after Musk, considered to be close to US President Trump, met Indian founders and business executives at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas in January.

At the time, the Tesla boss called for deeper collaboration and lowering trade barriers to increase commerce between the two countries.

This also comes nearly a year after Musk was supposed to land in India in April 2024. The Tesla and SpaceX boss later shelved the trip, which was expected to see Musk announce plans for the EV maker to enter the Indian market.

After shelving plans to foray into the country and set up a plant, Tesla, in December 2024, resumed its search for a showroom space in Delhi NCR.

Meanwhile, Musk-owned Starlink is also looking to launch its services in India. While the satellite broadband provider is yet to receive a licence, it has been caught in choppy regulatory waters. Last year, the union government launched a high-level probe into how Starlink’s devices found their way into the hands of drug smugglers and insurgents.

The move came after Indian security forces last year seized Starlink devices from insurgency-torn Manipur. In another case, smugglers brought drugs worth $4.5 Bn via sea into India using Starlink devices.