The richest man in the world, Elon Musk, reportedly joined a private phone call with US President Donald Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. His participation, as reported by The New York Times, citing two US officials, marks a rare move involving a private citizen being included in such a development. However, it remains unclear why Elon got on the call or whether he got a chance to speak.
Elon Musk joined Modi-Trump call on Iran: Report
While both the country’s leaders decided to “stay in touch regarding efforts towards peace and stability” in the wake of the ongoing US and Israel’s war on Iran, it is also uncertain how fruitful the Tesla CEO’s reported contributions were to the call. Citing two unnamed US officials, The New York Times suggested that Musk and the POTUS’ relationship was on the mend.
Their once-close ties suffered a major fallout after Musk’s departure from the Trump administration last year. The billionaire, whom the US president once called his ‘First Buddy,’ has since appeared to have struck a truce with the country’s leader and started making political appearances again in recent months.
Having renounced his “special government employee” title after dropping out of DOGE leadership, Musk no longer holds a government position. Despite the new NYT report on his participation in the call, the billionaire has been relatively quiet about the Iran war on social media. Last week, however, he simply joked online about how “we got lazy” in response to a post asking why so many countries severely relied on the Strait of Hormuz.
UPDATE: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson has since refuted claims of anyone else joining the Trump-Modi phone call.
Alluding to The New York Times report, they MEA spokesperson said in a statement, “We have seen the story. The telephone conversation on 24 March was between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump only,” as quoted by the Indian Express. “As has been stated earlier, it provided the opportunity for exchange of views on the situation in West Asia.”
Trump-Modi call on Iran war
Earlier this week, Narendra Modi announced via X that he had a “useful exchange of views” with Trump on the ongoing conflict in West Asia and the Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest,” Modi wrote on X. “Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world.”
The conversation accounted for the first direct contact between Modi and Trump after the war in Iran began on February 28.
Addressing the conversation between the two leaders, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told PTI, “President Trump has a great relationship with Prime Minister Modi, and this was a productive conversation.”
Elon Musk participates in Modi-Trump call on West Asia
Although the unnamed US officials cited in the NYT report didn’t divulge why Musk participated in the private call, the billionaire’s companies have especially relied on investment from countries in the Middle East, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, India has long been on Musk’s radar, with Tesla’s first showroom in the country opened in Mumbai last year. On the other hand, his Starlink’s direct-to-device satellite plans still await fresh approval from India’s space regulator, IN-SPACe, despite earlier approval of its Gen 1 constellation for broadband services.
He even proudly revealed his surprising connection to the country while appearing on Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath’s podcast. In December, he disclosed that his partner, Shivon Zilis, is “half-Indian.”
“One of my sons with her is, his middle name is Sekhar, after Chandrasekhar,” he added.