As Musk Makes Some Headway in India, He Is Also Suing Its Government
In recent weeks, Elon Musk has finally seemed to make some inroads in India, a potentially huge market whose government has frustrated him with its trade barriers.Tesla appears to be preparing another attempt to sell cars in the country, and Starlink, his satellite internet provider, signed partnerships with two Indian companies.At the same time, though, Mr.
Musk is picking a fight with the Indian government through another piece of his empire: his social media company, X.This month, X, formerly known as Twitter, filed a lawsuit in an Indian court accusing the government of misusing a law to block content on the site.While Mr.
Musk has portrayed himself as a champion of free speech, it is a touchy subject for the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which has faced allegations of stifling dissent and clamping down on expression.A hearing in the lawsuit is expected Thursday.The platform’s chatbot, Grok, has also posed a challenge for Indian officials, who are scrutinizing it for potential violations of information technology laws, according to Indian media reports.
Grok, which Mr.Musk has promoted as a straight-talking, “anti-woke” digital tool, has generated both mirth and outrage in India as it has spewed profanities in Hindi and made politically sensitive statements in response to user queries.For example, when users asked Grok about media bias, it replied that Mr.
Modi’s party spends heavily to “sway narratives.” It added: “Media bias isn’t new, but the party’s grip has tightened since 2014, often silencing critical voices.”The free-speech campaign by Mr.Musk’s company has landed in the middle of a delicate moment for relations between Washington and New Delhi.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
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