PM Modi, Elon Musk discuss tech and innovation ties in renewed push for US-India collaboration

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Thursday, reaffirming India’s interest in deepening its technology and innovation ties with the United States. The conversation follows a series of recent engagements between Indian officials and senior executives from Musk’s companies, including a meeting earlier this week between a Starlink delegation and Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.

“Spoke to @elonmusk and talked about various issues, including the topics we covered during our meeting in Washington DC earlier this year,” PM Modi posted on 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.”

The timing of the call is significant. India and the US are currently engaged in high-level trade talks, with a senior Indian delegation expected to travel to Washington next week for further negotiations aimed at easing market access and boosting bilateral investment. Meanwhile, New Delhi is also keen to attract strategic investments in critical sectors such as artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and satellite internet.

Earlier this week, Goyal hosted Starlink executives including Vice President Chad Gibbs and Senior Director Ryan Goodnight in New Delhi. Discussions covered Starlink’s technology platform, ongoing global deployments, and the company’s interest in expanding operations in India.

Starlink, the satellite internet arm of SpaceX, had previously run into regulatory headwinds in India. In 2021, the company was forced to halt pre-orders and refund Indian customers after the government asked it to stop selling its services without the required licences. Starlink had reportedly accepted bookings and even collected payments without having formal approval from the Department of Telecommunications.

Musk’s personal visit to India, originally scheduled for April 2023, was also abruptly cancelled, reportedly due to “very heavy Tesla obligations,” though sources later suggested that unresolved policy concerns played a part. His last major interaction with Indian leadership was during PM Modi’s official visit to Washington in June 2024, where Musk had expressed optimism about India’s future and described Modi as “very sincere and committed.”

Since then, Musk has shown increasing interest in tapping into India’s digital and industrial ecosystem, both through Tesla’s potential EV manufacturing plans and Starlink’s ambitions to serve remote and underserved regions with satellite internet.

Thursday’s call suggests that high-level engagement is back on track. With India pushing to position itself as a global innovation and manufacturing hub, and Musk’s companies seeking new markets and regulatory clarity, the next few months may be pivotal for converting dialogue into deployment.