The Department of State has not responded to CREW’s request for records pertaining to then-government employee Elon Musk’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2025, as well as records related to meetings with other heads of state and foreign delegations that mention Musk, according to a lawsuit filed by CREW. 

During Musk’s time at the White House, he was publicly touted as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and regularly attended cabinet meetings and took questions from the press, despite not being a cabinet member himself. In addition to his special government employee status, he maintained his positions as CEO of SpaceX and Tesla. At the time of the meeting, SpaceX’s subsidiary Starlink reportedly had a license application for satellite services under review by the Indian government, and shortly after the meeting Tesla opened its first showroom in India . 

On March 5, 2025, CREW filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests in order to understand if Musk met with Modi in his official capacity, whether they discussed government business during that meeting and if he had held similar meetings with other heads of state. The public has a right to know the details of Musk and Modi’s meeting. The government should immediately and fully process the FOIA requests and disclose all relevant non-exempt documents to CREW.

Lawsuit documents


Screenshot of Musk and Modi meeting from Narendra Modi’s YouTube channel

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