THE MUSK FACTOR

The Tesla CEO, Trump's close associate, will look to launch his cars in the Indian market, now that the stumbling block of high import duties doesn't exist. But the road won't be smooth for either his EVs or Starlink, his satellite internet service

- M.G. ARUN

Elon Musk, 53, had shot to fame long before his public endorsement and funding of Donald Trump in the latter's second run for the White House. As the entrepreneurial spirit behind electric vehicle maker Tesla, space technology firm SpaceX and international telecom provider Starlink, Musk had garnered global spotlight with his tech frontiersman vibe. His dramatic buyout of Twitter in 2022 was in sync with his maverick personality. Now, teaming up with Trump to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk, the world's richest man with a net worth of $402 billion, is under the spotlight again as he takes a large pair of scissors to American bureaucracy in a war on alleged wasteful expenditure of federal funds. He is also being watched for his next set of actions to further his business in new markets, including India.

Tesla had been eyeing an entry into India for long, but had hesitated due to India's high import duties on high-end cars.