On February 13, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk at the Blair House in Washington, D.C. During their meeting, Musk presented PM Modi with a hexagonal ceramic heatshield tile that had flown on SpaceX’s Starship test flight 5 in October 2024. This exchange, which also featured Modi gifting classic Indian books to Musk’s children, represented a deeper connection between India and Musk’s initiatives in space, mobility, and technology.
Key Highlights
Gift Exchange
- Elon Musk’s Gift: A heatshield tile from Starship Flight Test 5 (October 13, 2024), engraved with its mission details.
- Significance of the Tile: Designed to protect spacecraft from extreme heat during atmospheric re-entry.
PM Modi’s Gift
Three Indian classic books,
- The Crescent Moon by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Great RK Narayan Collection
- Panchatantra by Pandit Vishnu Sharma
Meeting Details
- Date & Location: February 13, 2025, at Blair House, Washington, D.C.
Attendees
- PM Narendra Modi
- Elon Musk
- Musk’s partner Shivon Zilis
- Musk’s three children
