Can I please just state how upset I am that I’m not someone important enough, like the Indian Prime Minister, to meet and chat with Elon Musk? I’m developing quite an interest in the man – haha!
In hopes of attracting funds and skills from tech innovators in the US, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, came to the Silicon Valley this past weekend (9/26-24/15).
He met with CEOs such as Tim Cook of Apple, Sundar Pichai of Google, and Elon Musk of Tesla. Modi, 65, is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the Silicon Valley in over 30 years. His goal was also to help India’s blossoming start-up scene grow and encourage some Indians who have thrived around San Jose to bring their knowledge back home.
On Saturday, Modi attended a dinner with 350 business leaders and used his speech to sell tech executives on his “Digital India” initiative. “Digital India” intends to create more tech jobs, move more services online, and connect thousands of Indian villages to the internet.
“We must bridge the digital divide and promote digital literacy in the same way we seek to ensure general literacy. We have the talent, enterprise, and skills to succeed. We also have the strength of the partnership between India and the United States.”
Saturday afternoon, Modi met with Tesla executives including CTO JB Straubel and Elon Musk. The executives gave him a tour of their facility, even showing Modi the inside of their lithium-ion battery that is the force behind Tesla’s vehicles.
Musk told India’s Ministry of External Affairs the men talked about how batteries and solar panels could be India’s future of electricity generation.
Tesla Chief Information Officer, Jay Vijayan, said last year that Tesla plans to start talks with the Indian government over heavy import taxes and possibly creating a separate category for electric vehicles.
Check out this video of Indian Prime Minister Modi visiting Tesla:
4Wheel Online Blog - Automotive News 