Elon Musk expected to meet with space startups during India visit

By Ragini Saxena, Menaka Doshi and Advait Palepu

Elon Musk is expected to meet with Indian space companies when he visits the South Asian country next week.
 

Startups including Skyroot Aerospace, Agnikul Cosmos, Bellatrix Aerospace and Dhruva Space say they have received requests from the government to save the date for a meeting with Musk in New Delhi on April 22. This offers a glimpse into Musk’s schedule during his visit to India, which some media reports have said will last around 48 hours.

India’s national space program has had some recent successes. It became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole last year and is planning its first crewed mission in 2025. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been making policy changes to further open up the space industry to private companies, including approving rules in February designed to encourage foreign investment in rocket and satellite manufacturing.

Musk’s visit could also pave the way for SpaceX’s Starlink and Tesla Inc. to break into the world’s most-populous nation. Musk said last year that Tesla was likely to make a significant investment in India as the government looks to lure foreign EV brands. Starlink set up a wholly owned unit in India in 2021 but has been waiting for government approvals to launch its services.