Musk Highlights Growing India-US Relations at Meeting with Leading Indian Business Leaders

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, met with a group of prominent Indian business leaders at his SpaceX Starbase facility in Texas on Friday. During the meeting, Musk expressed his optimism about the strengthening relationship between India and the United States, stating that the partnership is "trending positive." He also voiced his support for reducing trade barriers to foster greater commerce between the two nations.

The Indian delegation, which included executives from OYO, Flipkart, and Aditya Birla Group, was organized by the India Global Forum (IGF), a UK-based policy and events platform, to mark its expansion into the US this week.

The delegation toured SpaceX’s cutting-edge space exploration facilities and witnessed the launch of Starship Flight 7, which ended with the dramatic disintegration of its upper stage over the Atlantic Ocean.

In a moderated discussion with the Indian entrepreneurs, Musk emphasized the immense potential for collaboration between the US and India, particularly in the areas of technology and space exploration.

“I’m optimistic about the future. I strongly support reducing trade barriers to enhance commerce between the US and India,” Musk was quoted as saying by PTI. He also referred to India as "one of the oldest and most complex civilizations."

The delegation of Indian business leaders included Prashant Ruia, Director of Essar Capital; Jay Kotak, Co-Head of Kotak811; Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of OYO; Kalyan Raman, CEO of Flipkart; Aryaman Birla, Director at Aditya Birla Management Corporation; Nilesh Ved, Chairman of Apparel Group; and bestselling author Amish Tripathi, among others.

Musk, who is also known for his leadership roles at Tesla and the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), engaged with the Indian business figures on how technology and India’s growing global presence in innovation could lead to further collaboration.

The meeting took place just before the inauguration of Donald Trump for his second term as US President on January 20. Musk is rumored to have been offered the role of co-chair for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the new administration.

The meeting followed a series of private discussions on Thursday with members of the incoming Trump administration, including Jacob Helberg, the designated Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment. The discussions, held as part of IGF’s US launch, explored opportunities in digital infrastructure, technology, innovation, and foreign investment, with a focus on how to strengthen the economic and diplomatic ties between the US and India.