Elon Musk met with Modi during the Indian prime minister’s US visit. What does he want from India?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/02/2025 (259 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk during his visit to the U.S. to meet President Donald Trump. The exact nature of the meeting is unclear, although Modi said on X that the two men “discussed various issues, including those he is passionate about such as space, mobility, technology and innovation.”

Musk was recently chosen by Trump to head a new U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

Modi and Musk also met each other in New York in 2023. At that time Musk said he was “confident that Tesla will be in India … as soon as humanly possible.”

Trump unsure about why Modi and Musk met

Modi and Musk met each other on Thursday during the Indian prime minister’s visit to the U.S. While Musk was accompanied by his three young children, Modi was notably flanked by his top advisers — including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

Later, at a joint press conference with Modi at the White House, Trump said he wasn’t sure why Musk met the Indian prime minister but he assumed Musk “wants to do business in India.”

“I would imagine he met, possibly, because you know he’s running a company,” Trump told reporters.

India’s foreign ministry in a statement said Modi and Musk “discussed strengthening collaboration between Indian and U.S. entities in innovation, space exploration, artificial intelligence and sustainable development” and on “entrepreneurship and good governance.”

Musk has Starlink ambitions in India

Musk, who previously called himself a “fan of Modi,” has long wanted his Starlink satellite internet service to make an entry into the Indian market. Its launch, however, has been delayed due to regulatory challenges, security concerns and opposition from domestic telecom giants like Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio.

Last November, India’s telecoms minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, said Starlink was yet to comply with security norms, and a license for satellite communications services will be issued only after the company meets all the requirements.

Musk had earlier criticized India’s policy of granting spectrum for satellite services through auctioning. The Indian government later changed the policy and said it will assign satellite spectrum and not auction it.

India has vast, untapped potential in satellite broadband

India’s satellite broadband service market is highly competitive. At least six companies control the market, led by Ambani’s Reliance Jio.

Apart from regulatory roadblocks, Musk’s Starlink has also faced resistance by Reliance Jio, which last year said granting spectrum for satellite services through auctioning is necessary to ensure fair competition.

Musk’s Starlink has at least 6,900 active satellites orbiting Earth that provide low-latency broadband to some 4.6 million people. But if Musk wants to enter the Indian market, Starlink’s high pricing could be a concern.

Mobile data in India is among the cheapest globally, and Ambani’s Jio once gave data for free on its mobile plans. And yet, at least 40% of the country’s more than 1.4 billion people still don’t have access to the internet. Cheap satellite broadband is needed to bridge this gap, particularly in India’s vast remote and mountainous areas.

Musk’s Tesla cars are yet to enter Indian market

Musk’s Tesla has also been waiting to get into India, which is one of the world’s largest automobile markets, but has faced hurdles due to high import duties on vehicles brought into the country.

Also, India’s electric vehicle market is still nascent and made up a little more than 2% of total car sales last year. But the government wants to change that and increase the electric vehicle share to 30% by 2030.

India also recently unveiled a new policy that extends concessional tariffs on fully imported electric vehicles made by foreign carmakers who commit to starting local manufacturing.