Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk presented a unique gift to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—a heatshield tile from SpaceX’s Starship Test Flight 5, which took place on October 13, 2024. The engraved tile, designed to withstand extreme heat during atmospheric re-entry, was handed over during their meeting at Blair House in Washington.
PM Modi met Musk on Thursday (13), where the billionaire entrepreneur was accompanied by his partner Shivon Zilis and their three children. In return, PM Modi gifted Musk’s children three Indian literary classics—The Crescent Moon by Rabindranath Tagore, The Great RK Narayan Collection, and Panchatantra by Pandit Vishnu Sharma.
The meeting covered a range of topics, including space, mobility, technology, and innovation. PM Modi highlighted India’s ongoing reforms and the philosophy of ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance.’ Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he described the interaction as insightful and expressed delight in meeting Musk’s family.
The SpaceX Starship Test Flight 5, launched in October 2024, was a landmark mission, achieving a successful capture of its Super Heavy booster—a key breakthrough in aerospace technology.
This is not the first time the two have met. In 2015, during his visit to the Tesla facility in San Jose, PM Modi was personally given a tour by Musk. Their latest meeting reflects continued engagement between India and the tech visionary, potentially paving the way for further collaborations in space and innovation.
