New Delhi: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has responded to White House advisor Peter Navarro’s accusations of spreading “propaganda” on social media platform X, saying that people themselves decide the narrative on his platform. The verbal spat between Musk and U.S. senior counselor for Trade and Manufacturing Navarro comes amid a dispute over India’s purchases of Russian oil.
Navarro had posted on X: “India buys Russian oil purely to profit. It didn’t buy any before Russia invaded Ukraine. Indian govt spin machine moving high tilt. Stop killing Ukrainians. Stop taking American jobs,” while criticizing the Washington Post’s coverage of India-U.S. relations.
X’s fact-check feature, Community Notes, flagged his comments as misleading, stating that India’s sovereign energy purchases comply with international law. Navarro then criticized Musk for allowing “crap notes” and alleged that Indian “special interests” were influencing U.S. debates.
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Musk responded: “On this platform, the people decide the narrative… You hear all sides of an argument. Community Notes corrects everyone, no exceptions. Notes data & code is public source. Grok provides further fact-checking.” The Indian government also dismissed Navarro’s remarks, with the MEA spokesperson calling them “inaccurate and misleading.”
Navarro had earlier criticized India’s foreign policy, questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent engagements with Russian and Chinese leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, and declaring that “India needs to be with us, not Russia.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has described India-U.S. relations as a “very special relationship” and praised Prime Minister Modi, who in turn referred to the partnership as “forward-looking.”
Trump later appeared to soften his earlier remarks about “losing” India to China, adding, “I’ll always be friends with Prime Minister Modi.” Hours later, Modi reciprocated, saying he appreciates and fully acknowledges President Trump’s sentiments.
