TOI correspondent from London: Tech billionaire Elon Musk told a delegation of Indian business leaders that he is “certainly in favour of lowering trade barriers to increase commerce between the US and India”. Musk’s remarks came amid fears that incoming US president Donald Trump may increase trade tariffs on Indian imports.
Musk, whilst hosting a first-of-its kind delegation of Indian business figures at SpaceX’s Starbasefacility in Texas, emphasised the potential for deeper collaboration between the US and India, particularly in areas like technology and space exploration. “Things are trending positive,” he said.
“India is one of the ancient civilisations and a very great and very complex one,” Musk told the Indian delegation, representing leaders from diverse sectors ranging from technology and manufacturing to renewable energy. Topics discussed included the role of technology in finance and regulation, partnerships in space and AI innovation, and India’s growing role in the global innovation landscape.
The exclusive gathering, led by London-headquartered India Global Forum (IGF) founder Manoj Ladwa, provided an opportunity for leading Indian entrepreneurs to engage directly with Musk and tour the company’s cutting-edge space exploration facilities. The visit included a tour of Starbase.
Those on the trip included Essar Capital director Prashant Ruia; Kotak811 co-head Jay Kotak, OYO founder and group CEO Ritesh Agarwal, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Raman, Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt Ltd director Aryaman Birla, Apparel Group chairman Nilesh Ved, and author Amish Tripathi, among several others.
Musk spoke about his belief in the transformative potential of technology through his companies. “The goal of SpaceX is to expand the scope and scale of consciousness beyond what we know to understand what questions to ask about the answer that is the universe. We’re pretty confident that soon Grok 3 will be the most sophisticated AI in the world,” he said.
“This event underscores the growing importance of collaboration between India and global pioneers in shaping a sustainable and technology-driven future,” said Ladwa. “As the world’s most powerful democracy transitions to a Trump presidency, meaningful dialogue is more important than ever. I believe India’s rise presents limitless opportunities, and this meeting signifies the potential for powerful partnerships.”
