Elon Musk hosted a delegation of prominent Indian business leaders at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas on Friday, marking a unique opportunity for direct engagement between the tech mogul and top Indian entrepreneurs. The event, which included a tour of SpaceX’s state-of-the-art space exploration facilities, also featured a successful launch and booster catch of SpaceX’s Starship Flight 7.
The IGF delegation included leaders from various sectors, such as Prashant Ruia, Director of Essar Capital; Jay Kotak, Co-Head of Kotak811; Ritesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO of OYO; Kalyan Raman, CEO of Flipkart; Aryaman Birla, Director at Aditya Birla Management Corporation Private Limited; Nilesh Ved, Chairman of Apparel Group; and author Amish Tripathi, among others.
During the discussion, Musk emphasised the potential for increased collaboration between the United States and India, particularly in technology and space exploration. “Things are trending positive. I’m certainly in favour of lowering trade barriers to increase commerce between the US and India,” Musk said.
He also spoke highly of India, describing it as “one of the ancient civilizations and a very great and very complex one.”
The Indian delegation, which represented industries ranging from technology and manufacturing to renewable energy, discussed potential partnerships aimed at addressing global challenges. Topics included the role of technology in finance, regulation, AI innovation, and India’s growing influence in the global innovation landscape.
Musk shared insights into his companies, including SpaceX, Tesla, and Neuralink, and highlighted his belief in technology’s transformative potential. “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,” he said. He also noted that, “One of the things we’re aiming for with Grok is we’re pretty confident that soon Grok 3 will be the most sophisticated AI in the world.”
Manoj Ladwa, founder of the India Global Forum (IGF), said the event underscored the growing significance of collaboration between India and global innovators in shaping a technology-driven future. “As the world’s most powerful democracy transitions to a Trump presidency, meaningful dialogue is more important than ever in these challenging times. At India Global Forum, our mission is to bring together global leaders and innovators to tackle the defining challenges of our time,” Ladwa said.
“Democracies thrive when they work together. This moment underscores the need for collaboration, bold ideas, and shared purpose. I believe India’s rise presents limitless opportunities, and this meeting signifies the potential for powerful partnerships,” he added.