Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, yesterday at the Blair House in Washington. Mr Musk, accompanied by his three children and partner Shivon Zilis, gave Prime Minister Modi a gift that drew a lot of attention.

The billionaire, overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the Trump regime, gifted PM Modi with what appears to be a heatshield tile that flew on SpaceX’s starship test flight 5 in October last year. The relic was engraved with the words: “Starship Flight Test 5. October 13, 2024.”

The hexagonal ceramic heatshield tiles on SpaceX’s Starship are designed to protect the spacecraft from extreme heat encountered during atmospheric re-entry as it makes its way back to Earth.

On October 13, 2024, SpaceX launched its Starship vehicle from South Texas. This mission is particularly notable for successfully capturing its Super Heavy booster at the launch site, marking a significant achievement in aerospace technology.

In return, PM Modi gifted Musk’s children three Indian classic books – “The Crescent Moon” by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, The Great RK Narayan Collection and Pandit Vishnu Sharma’s Panchatantra.

Images shared by the Prime Minister showed Musk’s children reading these books.

It was also a delight to meet Mr. @elonmusk‘s family and to talk about a wide range of subjects! pic.twitter.com/0WTEqBaVpT

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 13, 2025

“Had a very good meeting with Elon Musk in Washington DC. We discussed various issues, including those he is passionate about such as space, mobility, technology and innovation. I talked about India’s efforts towards reform and furthering ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance.”, the PM wrote in a post on X.

Had a very good meeting with @elonmusk in Washington DC. We discussed various issues, including those he is passionate about such as space, mobility, technology and innovation. I talked about India’s efforts towards reform and furthering ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance.’ pic.twitter.com/7xNEqnxERZ

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 13, 2025

“It was also a delight to meet Mr Elon Musk’s family and to talk about a wide range of subjects,” he added.

The two discussed several key topics of space, mobility, technology and innovation. The two had previously met in 2015 when the PM visited the Tesla facility in San Jose and was given a personal tour by the Tesla CEO.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a joint press statement with U.S. President Donald Trump after their meeting at the White House, in Washington, DC on Thursday.
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS

India and the U.S. have decided to take a big leap in broad-basing their strategic ties in several critical areas, with President Donald Trump announcing after talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Washington is paving the way to provide New Delhi with F-35 fighter jets as part of increasing military supplies by billions of dollars. 

Read: Highlights from day 1 of the meeting

After holding wide-ranging talks with Mr. Modi, Mr. Trump said there is a “special bond” between the world’s oldest and largest democracies and both sides decided to shore up cooperation in diverse areas such as energy, critical technologies and connectivity. 

On the contentious issue of tariff, the U.S. President said Washington wants a level playing field.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump in the first bilateral talks between the two leaders after Mr. Trump assumed the presidency for a second term last month. PM Modi arrived in Washington on a two-day visit to hold high-stakes talks with the U.S. President.

Also Read | Trump order on reciprocal tariffs expected before meeting with PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off the series of bilateral interactions by meeting U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Thursday (February 13, 2025). He also met with billionaires Elon Musk and Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at Blaire House.

PM Modi is staying at the Blair House, the U.S. presidential guest house at the heart of the American capital city.

Also read | Trump administration prioritising relations with India: White House

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US President Donald Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington.
| Photo Credit: AP

US President Donald Trump announced plans to firm up “some wonderful trade deals” for India and the US as he hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for wide-ranging talks focussing on charting a new pathway for broadening the bilateral partnership, including in the areas of defence, energy, and critical technology.

PM Narendra Modi U.S. visit LIVE updates

At his Oval Office on Thursday, Trump welcomed Modi with a long handshake and a warm hug while describing the prime minister as a “great friend” for a long time.

The two leaders made brief statements to the media and answered a number of questions before settling down for the crucial talks, hours after the American President announced a new reciprocal tariff policy for all the trading partners of the US.

“We are going to work with India also. We have separate big trade deals to announce in the very near future,” Trump said while talking about his administration’s trade policy.

“We are going to make some wonderful trade deals for India and for the US,” he said replying to a question.

In his remarks, Modi congratulated Trump for becoming the president for a second term and recalled the upward trajectory of India-US relations during the American leader’s first stint at the White House.

“I firmly believe that in your second term, we will work with more speed,” Modi said.

“President Trump always keeps the national interest of the US supreme and like him, I also keep the national interest of India at top of everything else,” he added.

In his remarks, the US President said: “We have some very big things to talk about; they (India) are going to be purchasing a lot of our oil and gas (from the US).” “We have more oil and gas than any other country in the world and they (India) need it, and we have it,” he said.

“He is doing a great job in India and he (PM Modi) and I share a great friendship and we will continue to build on ties between our nations,” Trump added.

The Prime Minister and the President also answered questions on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“I support Donald Trump’s efforts towards finding a possible solution to end the war. The world somehow feels India has been neutral during the war. But I would like to reiterate that India has not been neutral. In fact, India has been on the side of peace,” Modi said.

“When I met President Putin, I had even said that ‘this is not the era for war’. I had also said that solutions cannot be found in the battlefield. They can only come when all parties sit at the table for dialogue,” he added.

Before meeting Trump, Prime Minister Modi held separate talks with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, billionaire Elon Musk and Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy.

Modi kicked off his two-day visit to Washington DC on Wednesday evening (Thursday morning India time) after concluding his trip to France.

Ahead of the Modi-Trump meeting, diplomatic sources indicated that the focus of the talks will be on enhancing cooperation in areas of defence, energy, technology, infrastructure, and trade.

The Trump administration is particularly keen on expanding Washington’s defence sales to India and the two sides may broadly finalise a couple of deals, including co-production of Stryker armoured fighting vehicles in India.

Besides defence, trade is another high priority area in the deliberations between the two leaders. The reciprocal tariff policy is expected to have some impact on India’s trade with US also.

Two days back, Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on global steel and aluminium imports into the US. The move is expected to hit the Indian firms exporting steel and aluminium to the US.

India has already indicated its readiness to adopt a more conciliatory approach on the sensitive issue unlike its hardline approach during Trump’s first term.

People closely tracking India-US ties said there is a possibility of both sides exploring the option of looking at a trade pact to avoid high tariffs and expand the overall trade basket.

The bilateral trade between India and the US was around USD 130 billion last year.

The prime minister’s visit to the American capital comes days after the Trump administration deported 104 Indians in handcuffs and shackles in a military aircraft that sparked outrage in India.

Last week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Parliament that New Delhi is in touch with the US to ensure that returning Indian deportees are not mistreated in any manner.

Washington DC:

Shortly after announcing sweeping reciprocal tariffs which will impact all nations which impose tariffs on US goods, Donald Trump spoke about how India is “right at the top of the pack” when it comes to tariffs. President Trump’s remarks come hours before his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which the two leaders will discuss the entire gamut of India-US ties. Tariffs will figure high on the agenda.

Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office after making the announcement for reciprocal tariffs, President Trump said “allies are often worse than enemies” and said the US will now impose a tit-for tat tariff on all nations which imposes tariffs on US goods.

President Trump said “India charges tremendously high tariffs”. He recalled how “Harley Davidson couldn’t sell their motorbikes in India because of the fact that in India – the tariff was so high.”

He went on to say that “Harley was forced to build… But I think they built a factory in India in order to avoid paying the tariffs. And that’s what people can do with us too.” The President, who has called ‘tariffs’ his favourite word in the dictionary on multiple occasions, aims to follow this model of trade aiming to “make America great again”.

He said companies that wish to sell their products in the US would need to set up factories and industries in the United States to avoid steep tariffs. “They can build a factory here, a plant or whatever it may be here and that includes the medical, that includes cars, that includes chips and semiconductors,” he said.

Earlier in the day, tech billionaire and Donald Trump’s biggest supporter and confidant Elon Musk and his family met PM Modi. Musk, who is the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, has been contemplating bringing his business to India. He has made announcements about it in the past, but has not yet started his factories in India.

Speaking about Elon Musk, President Trump said, “They met. I assume he wants to do business in India. But India is a very hard place to do business in because of the tariffs,” adding that “I would imagine he met possibly because he is running a company, he is doing this as something that he has felt strongly about for a long time.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the US on a two-day official visit. He will be holding bilateral talks with US President Donald Trump. While the two leaders will discuss the entire gamut of India-US ties, tariffs, visas, and immigration will be key focus areas.

Days before PM Modi’s visit to the US, India, in the Union Budget presented in Parliament on February 1, significantly reduced customs duties on high-end motorcycles, cars and smartphone parts – a move which will give a big boost to American companies like Harley-Davidson, Tesla and Apple.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, however, made it clear that custom duty rationalisation was introduced in the Budget to ensure Indian economy become aatmanirbhar (self-reliant), and is not a signal amid Donald Trump’s tariff announcements.

“We are looking at our own economy. We are looking to strengthen the foundation of the Indian economy, to make it a manufacturing hub,” she said while speaking exclusively to NDTV’s Sanjay Pugalia.
 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting with US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, in Washington, DC, USA.
| Photo Credit: PMO

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Waltz in Washington DC on Thursday. Mr. Modi arrived in the U.S. capital on Wednesday evening for a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

The meeting with Mr. Waltz was his first engagement of the day.

PM Narendra Modi U.S. visit Day 1 LIVE updates

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval were also present at the meeting. After arriving at Blair House, the President’s Guest House, Mr. Modi met U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday.

“Congratulated her on her confirmation. Discussed various aspects of the India-USA friendship, of which she’s always been a strong votary,” Mr. Modi said on X.

Just hours before her meeting with Ms. Modi, Ms. Gabbard took the oath of office as the eighth Director of National Intelligence in the presence of Mr. Trump.

Washington:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had a “fruitful meeting” with US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and they discussed defence, technology and security areas, which are important aspects of the India-US ties.

“Had a fruitful meeting with NSA @michaelgwaltz. He has always been a great friend of India,” PM Modi said in a post on X.

“Defence, technology and security are important aspects of India-USA ties and we had a wonderful discussion around these issues. There is strong potential for cooperation in sectors like AI, semiconductors, space and more,” he said.

After his meeting with Waltz, PM Modi met SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Musk arrived at Blair House with his three young kids.

PM Modi arrived in the US capital on Wednesday evening for a bilateral meeting with President Donald Trump.

The meeting with Waltz was the first engagement of the day. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were present at the meeting.

After arriving at Blair House, the President’s Guest House, PM Modi met US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. “Congratulated her on her confirmation. Discussed various aspects of the India-USA friendship, of which she’s always been a strong votary,” PM Modi said on X.

Just hours before her meeting with PM Modi, Tulsi Gabbard took the oath of office as the 8th Director of National Intelligence in the presence of Trump.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Elon Musk during his visit to the United States and Starlink’s entry in the South Asian Market could be discussed during the meeting, Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the plans.

Click here for live updates of PM Narendra Modi’s U.S. visit

Mr. Musk is likely to hold a meeting with PM Modi and the Indian government expects these could include Starlink’s plans to start satellite broadband services in India, according to the report citing two sources, who did not want to be named as the plans are private.

Starlink wants to start operations in India. The Indian government has backed Mr. Musk’s idea that spectrum should be assigned rather than auctioned. However, Starlink’s licence application is still being reviewed.

“Musk is agreeable to give assurances on India security concerns, which includes storing data locally,” one of the sources told Reuters.

Earlier in December, Mr. Musk announced Starlink satellite internet was inactive in India after authorities seized two of the company’s devices, one in an armed conflict zone and another in a drug smuggling bust, according to Reuters report. It was not clear whether Tesla’s entry into India would come up for discussion between PM Modi and Musk, Reuters reported, citing sources. However, increased sourcing of electric vehicle components from India is likely to be discussed during the meeting.

PM Modi is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump during his two-day visit to the US. PM Modi is travelling to the US after concluding his three-day visit to France. This will be the first visit of Prime Minister Modi to the United States since the inauguration of the second presidential term of President Donald Trump.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off the series of bilateral interactions by meeting U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Thursday (February 13, 2025). 

Also Read | Trump order on reciprocal tariffs expected before meeting with PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Washington on a two-day visit to hold high-stakes talks with President Donald Trump. The Prime Minister will be hosted by the U.S. President in what would be the first bilateral talks between the two leaders after Trump assumed the presidency for a second term last month.

Also read | Trump administration prioritising relations with India: White House

With Mr. Trump’s tariff policy sending shockwaves across the world, PM Modi’s key priority is likely to be to pre-empt any punitive trade action by Washington against India.

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