Mr Modi shared details of their meeting on X. This meeting marks another significant interaction between the two, following their previous encounter in New York in 2023. During that meeting, Mr Musk expressed confidence that Tesla would soon enter the Indian market, stating, “I’m confident that Tesla will be in India… as soon as humanly possible”.
Mr Musk’s meeting with Mr Modi was attended by his three young children, while Mr Modi was accompanied by his top advisers, including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. Trump later commented on the meeting, assuming Mr Musk’s interest in doing business in India, saying, “I would imagine he met, possibly, because you know he’s running a company”.
According to India’s foreign ministry, Mr Modi and Mr Musk discussed strengthening collaboration between Indian and U.S. entities in innovation, space exploration, artificial intelligence, and sustainable development. They also touched on entrepreneurship and good governance.
Musk’s ambitions for Starlink in India
Mr Musk has long been a fan of Mr Modi and has been eager to introduce his Starlink satellite internet service to the Indian market, per AP.
However, Starlink’s entry into India has faced regulatory challenges, security concerns, and opposition from domestic telecom giants like Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio. In November last year, India’s telecoms minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, stated that Starlink had yet to comply with security norms, and a license for satellite communications services would only be issued after meeting all requirements.
Mr Musk has criticised India’s policy of granting spectrum for satellite services through auctioning, but the Indian government later changed its policy, deciding to assign satellite spectrum instead of auctioning it.
Musk has interests in India’s untapped satellite broadband market
India’s satellite broadband service market is highly competitive, with at least six companies controlling the market, led by Ambani’s Reliance Jio.
About 6,900 active satellites of Mr Musk’s Starlink are orbiting Earth, providing low-latency broadband to some 4.6 million people. However, if Mr Musk wants to enter the Indian market, Starlink’s high pricing could become an issue. India has one of the cheapest rates of mobile data globally and Ambani’s Jio once gave
Despite this, at least 40% of India’s population still lacks access to the internet.
Tesla is waiting to enter India
Tesla has been waiting to enter India as it is the world’s largest automobile market, but because of the high import duties on vehicles, it has faced hurdles. Moreover India’s electric market is still new and made up only about 2% of the total car sales last year. But the government is trying to push that number up to 30% by 2030. Additionally India’s new policy of extending concessional tariffs on fully imported electric vehicles made by foreign carmakers who start local manufacturing is also appealing.
In related news, Tesla is preparing to establish its presence in India, with the company’s visit to India and site selection process underway. Tesla’s entry into the Indian market is expected to bring numerous benefits, including providing Indian consumers with access to advanced electric vehicles, creating job opportunities, and contributing to the growth and development of the Indian electric vehicle industry.
