PM Modi Receives Starship Heatshield Tile from Musk

On February 13, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk at the Blair House in Washington, D.C. During this meeting, Musk gifted PM Modi a hexagonal ceramic heatshield tile that flew on SpaceX’s Starship test flight 5 in October 2024. This exchange, which also included Modi gifting Musk’s children classic Indian books, symbolized a deeper engagement between India and Musk’s ventures 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

Discussion Topics

• Space Exploration & Starship Developments
• Mobility & Electric Vehicles (EVs)
• Technology & Innovation
• India’s ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’ reforms

Social Media Updates

• PM Modi shared photos of Musk’s children reading the gifted books.
• Musk and Modi’s meeting was highlighted on Modi’s social media, emphasizing discussions on key global technological advancements.

Previous Modi-Musk Interactions

• First Meeting: 2015 at Tesla’s facility in San Jose, where Musk gave Modi a personal tour.
• Ongoing Engagements: Collaboration in areas of EVs, space tech, and innovation.