Twitter chairman and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk has said that the microblogging platform has no choice but to adhere to the Indian law while operating in the South Asian nation.
He said it while responding to former CEO Jack Dorsey’s claim that New Delhi had asked the site to block certain accounts during the farmer protests in India in 2020-21.
“Twitter does not have a choice but to obey local governments. If we don't obey local government laws, we will get shut down so the best we can do is to work close to the law in any given country,” Musk said after a meeting with the Indian leader Narendra Modi in New York City.
“Twitter can’t apply America to Earth,” Musk remarked.
He said that it remained impossible for the microblogging site to not follow the local regulations.
“We will do our best to provide free speech that is possible under the law," the billionaire businessman stated.
He also said that Tesla would soon set-up a car manufacturing plant in India, possibly by the end of 2023.
“I am confident that Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible,” Musk remarked.
An Indian Foreign Ministry statement said that Prime Minister Modi appreciated Musk’s efforts at making technology affordable and accessible to various sectors.
“Prime Minister invited Musk to explore opportunities in India for investments in electric mobility and rapidly expanding commercial space sector,” the statement noted.
Modi Meets Eminent Personalities, Think Tankers
Soon after landing in New York on Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Modi held meetings with prominent American and Indian personalities, businessmen, and think-tankers, as per the Indian Foreign Ministry.
Modi met American science communicator Neil de Grasse Tyson, with both of them exchanging views on “inculcating scientific temperament among youth”.
“They discussed at length India’s rapid progress in space sector including various space exploration missions being undertaken by India,” an Indian statement noted.
The Indian leader also held separate meetings with Ray Dalio, the co-founder of investment firm Bridgewater Associates, Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman, American economist Paul Romer and leading American academics.