Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk today during his two-day visit to the United States that started Wednesday. The Prime Minister met with Musk, a close ally of Donald Trump, hours before his discussions with the US President.
Space, mobility, technology and innovation were the key topics discussed during the "very good" meeting with the tech billionaire, the Prime Minister said in a post on X. "They also discussed strengthening collaboration between Indian and US entities in innovation, space exploration, artificial intelligence, and sustainable development," sources said. "Their discussion also touched on opportunities to deepen cooperation in emerging technologies, entrepreneurship and good governance," they added.
The SpaceX CEO's three young children accompanied him as he arrived at Blair House, the US President's guest house. They were seen sitting with Mr Musk when he met PM Modi. Neuralink director Shivon Zilis was also present in the meeting.
The Prime Minister also shared several photos from the meeting where he was seen interacting with three young children. He gifted the children three books - "The Crescent Moon" by Rabindranath Tagore, "The Great RK Narayan Collection" and "Panchatantra".
Elon Musk was later seen walking out of Blair House, holding hands with his son.
However, Trump, reacting to the meeting, said, "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."
"They have the highest tariffs...It's a hard place to do business," Mr Trump said, after announcing US' "reciprocal tariffs" plan, targetting both allies and adversaries.
The Prime Minister met US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz earlier today. Union External Affairs Minister and NSA Ajit Doval were also present at the meeting.
After his arrival, he met with Tulsi Gabbard, who took the oath of office as the 8th US director of National Intelligence in the presence of Trump just hours before.
He also met with India-origin entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
PM Modi and Musk - who is overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency in the Trump regime - have met several times in the past. In 2015, he visited the Tesla facility in San Jose when he was given a personal tour by Musk.
During the meeting with PM Modi, Trump will be pushing for a "fair" trade deal with India, while the two leaders will also discuss a new defence partnership and military sales during the meeting, senior White House officials said. PM Modi will hold a joint press conference with Trump.
This is PM Modi's first visit to the United States after his "good friend" Trump's election win.
