Ian Laffey, the CEO of a San Francisco-based defence and space manufacturing company called Theseus, has long rejected any potential formal partnerships with India, according to his recent social media post. The US CEO’s confession grabbed the Internet’s attention shortly after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a glimpse of his pictured camaraderie with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
US CEO rejects Indian drone companies, gets hate comments on X
“This is why I don’t respond to the 10,000 Indian drone companies who message me,” the Theseus exec tweeted on Monday evening (IST). At the time of writing, his post had just over 100,000 views on X. As its traction continued climbing upward, social media backlash hit him hard.
Many X users reminded Laffey of Putin’s ties with US President Donald Trump. “What about American Drone companies?” commented user @RationalistHindu. Yet another presumably Indian-origin person added sarcastically, “Putin love democracies!” A third individual dragged him, saying, “India will build its own technology and once de-dollarisation happens you will face the heat. A fourth quote-posted the tweet, sardonically adding, “A striking criticism from a citizen of a very ethical nation.”
muting this. indian nationalism is on a different level.
— Ian Laffey (@ilaffey2) September 1, 2025
i know countless amazing and brilliant indian engineers, but i don't want my work going to dictators or people who support them.
i work day in day out for ukrainian soverignty and for the usa. end of story. https://t.co/cGX8RdN8uZ
Ian Laffey drops ‘dictator’ bomb for Putin, drags Modi after SCO
As the hate train furiously doubled down against the US CEO, Laffey was forced to mute his original post. “Muting this. Indian nationalism is on a different level,” he shared in a follow-up message.
He then added while he knew “countless amazing and brilliant Indian engineers,” he didn’t want his “work going to dictators or people who support them.” Laffey also asserted he was fully committed to working for Ukrainian sovereignty and the United States.
The US company Laffey heads is all for an “unmanned” future. According to Theseus’ official website, they are “building aerospance grade systems at consumer prices and volumes to ensure the freedom of tomorrow’s platform.”
Ian Laffey’s post, in turn, quote-posted Modi’s X update featuring two snaps of him greeting Putin at the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) in Tianjin. It was captioned: “Always a delight to meet President Putin.” While one captured both world leaders hugging each other, the second all-smiles picture spotlighted them affectionately holding each other’s hands.