Mystery grows over businessman’s role in call between leaders on March 24
A day after The New York Times reported that U.S. businessman Elon Musk was present during a call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump on March 24, India on Saturday (March 28, 2026) clarified that the conversation was only between the two leaders.
However, the government did not deny or confirm Mr. Musk’s presence during the call, in which the two leaders discussed the West Asia conflict.
On Saturday (March 28, 2026), The New York Times published a story quoting two unnamed U.S. officials who said that Mr. Musk, who no longer holds any official assignment, and is the owner of Tesla, Starlink and X, participated in a phone call on Tuesday (March 24, 2026) with Mr. Trump and Mr. Modi, calling it “an unusual appearance by a private citizen on a call between two heads of state during a wartime crisis”.
Responding to the report, official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government had seen it. “The telephone conversation on 24 March was between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump only. As has been stated earlier, it provided the opportunity for exchange of views on the situation in West Asia,” Mr. Jaiswal said.
Officials had directed media to check with the U.S. Embassy or the White House, since the alleged “participation” of Mr. Musk on the call had come from the U.S. side, which had initiated the call.
The U.S. President and the White House have not issued any readout of the conversation between Mr. Trump and Mr. Modi. U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said the two leaders “discussed the ongoing situation in the Middle East, including the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open”.
In a post on X, Mr. Modi too said he had received a call from President Trump and “had a useful exchange of views on the situation in West Asia”.
“India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world,” Mr. Modi added saying that he and Mr. Trump had agreed to stay in touch on the issue of efforts towards peace and stability.
Neither side had mentioned the presence of Mr. Musk, however. When asked by The New York Times about Mr. Musk’s role in the phone call, White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said that “President Trump has a great relationship with Prime Minister Modi, and this was a productive conversation” without denying the story.
Mr. Musk, who had been appointed by Mr. Trump to lead the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) at the beginning of the U.S. President’s second term, had resigned within four months in May 2025 from the position over public differences over government policy. Significantly, Mr Musk had blamed the current U.S. Ambassador who was then in the White House, for some of the differences, angered by Mr. Gor’s alleged role in blocking a Musk nominee for head of U.S. Space Agency NASA. During PM Modi’s visit to Washington in February 2025, Mr. Musk had called on him, but caused a controversy when it became known that he had brought his children and their childcare staff with him to the official meeting where External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval were present, leading to questions in Delhi about the unorthodox behaviour of Mr. Musk.
Mr. Musk, who posted several times on X about other issues, did not comment on the story or the controversy.
It was a Trump-Modi conversation, says Govt. after reports of Musk’s presence
Mystery grows over businessman’s role in call between leaders on March 24
A day after The New York Times reported that U.S. businessman Elon Musk was present during a call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump on March 24, India on Saturday (March 28, 2026) clarified that the conversation was only between the two leaders.
However, the government did not deny or confirm Mr. Musk’s presence during the call, in which the two leaders discussed the West Asia conflict.
On Saturday (March 28, 2026), The New York Times published a story quoting two unnamed U.S. officials who said that Mr. Musk, who no longer holds any official assignment, and is the owner of Tesla, Starlink and X, participated in a phone call on Tuesday (March 24, 2026) with Mr. Trump and Mr. Modi, calling it “an unusual appearance by a private citizen on a call between two heads of state during a wartime crisis”.
Responding to the report, official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government had seen it. “The telephone conversation on 24 March was between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump only. As has been stated earlier, it provided the opportunity for exchange of views on the situation in West Asia,” Mr. Jaiswal said.
Officials had directed media to check with the U.S. Embassy or the White House, since the alleged “participation” of Mr. Musk on the call had come from the U.S. side, which had initiated the call.
The U.S. President and the White House have not issued any readout of the conversation between Mr. Trump and Mr. Modi. U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said the two leaders “discussed the ongoing situation in the Middle East, including the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open”.
In a post on X, Mr. Modi too said he had received a call from President Trump and “had a useful exchange of views on the situation in West Asia”.
“India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world,” Mr. Modi added saying that he and Mr. Trump had agreed to stay in touch on the issue of efforts towards peace and stability.
Neither side had mentioned the presence of Mr. Musk, however. When asked by The New York Times about Mr. Musk’s role in the phone call, White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said that “President Trump has a great relationship with Prime Minister Modi, and this was a productive conversation” without denying the story.
Mr. Musk, who had been appointed by Mr. Trump to lead the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) at the beginning of the U.S. President’s second term, had resigned within four months in May 2025 from the position over public differences over government policy. Significantly, Mr Musk had blamed the current U.S. Ambassador who was then in the White House, for some of the differences, angered by Mr. Gor’s alleged role in blocking a Musk nominee for head of U.S. Space Agency NASA. During PM Modi’s visit to Washington in February 2025, Mr. Musk had called on him, but caused a controversy when it became known that he had brought his children and their childcare staff with him to the official meeting where External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval were present, leading to questions in Delhi about the unorthodox behaviour of Mr. Musk.
Mr. Musk, who posted several times on X about other issues, did not comment on the story or the controversy.
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