Tech billionaire Elon Musk reportedly had a special gift -- a heat shield tile from Starship spacecraft that went to space -- for Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting in Washington Wednesday.
The hexagonal ceramic tiles are designed to protect SpaceX's Starship during atmospheric reentry, when the spacecraft faces extreme temperatures as it returns to Earth. While specific details of the gift are not known yet, the heat shield is believed to be from the fifth test flight of Starship on October 13 , 2024.
Modi, on the other hand, gifted Musk's children three books -- "The Crescent Moon" by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, The Great RK Narayan Collection, and Panchatantra. Musk was accompanied by his girlfriend, Shivon Zilis, and three of his children for his meeting with Modi.
The children were seen flipping through the books in photos of the meeting shared by the Prime Minister on X. "It was also a delight to meet Mr Elon Musk's family and to talk about a wide range of subjects," PM Modi said in a post.
"It was an honor to meet," Musk replied.
At the Blair House meeting, Modi and Trump discussed strengthening collaboration between Indian and US entities in several key areas, including innovation, space exploration, AI, and sustainable development. Opportunities to deepen cooperation in emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, and good governance were also explored.
PM Modi was accompanied by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.