India’s Modi to meet with Trump, Musk on Thursday as trade tensions mount
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sept. 4, 2024.
Dean Kassim | Afp | Getty Images
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is headed to Washington, D.C., for meetings with President Donald Trump and members of his administration, including Elon Musk, to discuss topics such as efforts to avoid a trade war and artificial intelligence policy, CNBC has confirmed.
In his meetings with President Trump on Thursday, Modi will address the country’s growing trade deficit and present a menu of trade concessions including some tied to agriculture and medical devices, according to sources familiar with the upcoming talks who asked not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak on the matter.
Modi and his team will also signal India’s intent to buy more liquified natural gas from the U.S., a deal that will likely involve Cheniere Energy. India already buys one-fifth of its LNG from the U.S. and is one of the world’s biggest importers.
A senior official in Modi’s government told CNBC that India is ready to procure more U.S. defense equipment from Stryker, and to find other ways to partner with Washington on military drills in the Indian Ocean, where China remains a lingering threat.
While in Washington, Modi will spend time with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee to run the Commerce Department.
Modi will also have a one-on-one meeting with Musk, who is overseeing the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, with a focus on slashing federal programs and regulations. Modi’s discussion with the world’s richest person is expected to center on AI policy, Starlink’s expansion into India and Tesla’s ability to open up a plant in the country, the government official said.
A White House spokesperson did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
On technology, Modi and his team will also reinforce their interest in buying high-performance graphics processing units, or GPUs, from the U.S. and in avoiding any forthcoming export controls from the Trump administration. In a recent trip to Mumbai, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang expressed interest in partnering with India’s Reliance Industries to further the country’s AI efforts.
It will not be the first meeting between the Indian leader and Musk.
Just before Modi’s state visit to Washington in 2023, Musk met with Modi in New York to discuss slashing electric vehicle import duties in India and other ways Tesla’s expansion into India could become a reality.
Tesla has not publicly shared a plan to build a factory in India, and has instead continued to focus on China. But India has become a big growth market for U.S. tech.
Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Google and Amazon have pledged billions of dollars of investment in India’s growth and to capitalize on the country’s emerging middle class.
According to analysts’ estimates, Apple now manufactures 10% to 15% of its iPhones in India, and CEO Tim Cook has suggested that the company is looking to potentially move more production there. Apple also opened a few retail stores in India in 2023.
For Modi, the trip represents an opportunity for a much-needed boost to his company’s private sector. The MSCI India exchange-traded fund has fallen 5% this year and more than 15% since late September. Meanwhile, Chinese stocks have been rallying as emerging market investors bet on the country’s AI advancements, particularly following recent reports about the power and efficiency of DeepSeek’s model. The iShares MSCI China ETF is up 11% in 2025.
Australian logistics company Linfox is making big moves to electrify its heavy-duty semi fleet with the addition of thirty new Volvo FH and FM Electric semi trucks as the Swedish brand works to begin production at its Brisbane facility.
Volvo Trucks is expecting to begin full scale production of its FH and FM Electric semi trucks at the Brisbane factory in early 2026, just in time to fill the Linfox order – which happens to be the company’s largest in Australia. So far.
“We are very proud to continue our close partnership with Linfox. The order for 30 Volvo electric trucks is proof of their trust in our company and in zero-emissions transport as a viable solution here and now,” said Roger Alm, President Volvo Trucks. “Our commitment to start building electric trucks in Australia demonstrates our confidence in this technology, and means we can offer an industry-leading range of purpose-built electric trucks all around the world.”
With the production kickoff of electric trucks in Australia, it means Volvo Trucks is building its big HDEVs and prime movers in five countries on three continents. Which, as the company’s electric fleet approaches the 100 millionth mile logged mark, probably means they’re pulling well ahead of some of the other guys.
“Linfox is excited to partner with Volvo in driving the future and leading sustainable logistics in Australia,” explains Peter Fox AM (Member of the Order of Australia), Executive Chairman of Linfox. “Further electrifying our fleet sets the standard for us and our customers and the entire industry.”
Linfox’ latest order includes 29 Volvo FH Electric and one FM Electric semi. The company currently has four electric Volvo trucks in its fleet of 195 semis, with plans to continue to electrify as ICE-powered assets reach retirement.
Electrek’s Take
Now counting miles in operation in the tens of millions and rolling out its third generation of electric semi trucks, Volvo (and, by extension, Mack and Renault) continue to build a huge lead in the commercial trucking space. The competition, meanwhile, seems content to post pictures of its first factory while trucks that have been on order for years still haven’t reached customers.
I can’t see how they (Tesla) catch up from here.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo Trucks.
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Oakland International Airport (OAK) in Alameda, California is helping stressed-out air passengers breathe a little bit easier with the introduction of five new battery-electric K9MD shuttle buses to its ground equipment fleet.
Global EV leaders BYD aren’t coming to America – the Chinese brand is already here. The company has been building EVs in its $250 million, 106,000 square foot production facility in Lancaster, California since 2014, delivering hundreds of battery-electric buses to fleets across the world. With this order of five new K9MD buses, OAK becomes the latest airport to turn to BYD Ride to help electrify its ground operations.
“We applaud Oakland Airport and their commitment to electrifying its fleet,” said Jason Yan, Vice President of Sales, West Region and National Account at Ride. “[BYD] Ride is thrilled to partner with OAK to offer sustainable transportation solutions that benefit both the environment and the community.”
The K9MD buses seat up to 42 passengers and have a 208 mile operating range from a 352 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery. That battery is backed by a 12-year warranty to help keep fiscally conservative fleet buyers at ease, while the smooth, quiet, and electric drive keeps the fleet’s operators happy, too.
Oakland International Airport is operated by the Port of Oakland, and is scheduled to electrify its entire ground operations fleet by 2030.
Electrek’s Take
The people live and work near airports are exposed to more emissions than most – and that includes kids, the elderly … even their pets. Electrifying the assets that operate in those spaces pays huge and immediate dividends in terms of the public health of some of the most vulnerable populations.
It’s as good a place as any to start. Let’s go.
SOURCE | IMAGES: BYD.
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Environment
Trump meme coin dinner likely to include mostly non-Americans based on top $TRUMP holders
Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Images
With President Donald Trump’s private dinner for top meme coin holders less than a week away, the leaderboard is awash with crypto wallets that are effectively anonymous.
On May 22, the top 220 $TRUMP holders are invited to a dinner with the president at his Virginia golf club outside of Washington, D.C. The event was announced last month, and the tally closed Monday night.
The nature of the pseudonymous wallets raises questions about the true identities and motivations of the token’s largest holders, who have bought a seat at the table with a U.S. president.
Documents from blockchain analytics firm Inca Digital that were reviewed by CNBC show where the top 275 $TRUMP token holders send and receive the token. Many are heavily tied to international exchanges like Binance that don’t service U.S. customers, an indication that they’re likely not U.S. citizens.
An analysis by Bloomberg revealed that 19 of the top 25 wallets are almost certainly owned by individuals operating outside the U.S.
Justin Sun, who openly shared that he bought $75 million worth of the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial token — a digital coin where 75% of proceeds go to Trump-related entities — is believed to be at the top of the $TRUMP meme token leaderboard.
Sun, who was born in China, is the crypto entrepreneur behind the Tron blockchain and is in talks with the SEC to resolve civil fraud charges.
A wallet called Sun currently holds more than $18 million worth of $TRUMP, with $4.5 million bought after the dinner contest announcement, according to Bloomberg.
Multiple reports point to the wallet being tied to the Tron founder. A representative for Sun didn’t respond to CNBC’s request for comment or confirm whether Sun is the wallet owner.
MemeCore, a Singapore-based crypto network that was vocal in its quest to secure a spot at the Trump dinner, landed in second place with an investment of $18 million. An Australian crypto entrepreneur also reportedly made the cut.
The leaderboard points to the token’s extreme volatility.
Inca Digital told CNBC that while 560,376 wallets have made a combined $5.2 billion in realized gains on the $TRUMP token, an even larger number — 592,962 wallets — have collectively lost $3.9 billion.
The figures underscore the massive wealth transfer within Trump’s crypto ecosystem, where early buyers have seen windfalls while the majority have suffered losses.
Chainalysis and Elliptic, two leading blockchain analytics firms, initially tracked $TRUMP token movements and trading fees. But days after CNBC published a story on the number of crypto wallets that had lost money on the meme coin, the firms said they were too busy with existing clients to continue blockchain analysis of the president’s self-branded meme token.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations, warned that the Trump family’s growing crypto holdings may serve as a backdoor for foreign and corporate interests seeking access to the president.
Freight Technologies, a Houston-based logistics firm that trades on the Nasdaq and has a market cap of just over $2.3 million, bought $2 million worth of the $TRUMP tokens to influence U.S.-Mexico trade policy, according to a release. CEO Javier Selgas described the move as a strategic push to “champion fair and free trade” across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Freight Technologies finished in 250th place, missing the cut for the dinner.
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