“I tried to dissuade him, but without success”: Elon Musk on Donald Trump’s pricing policy
Tesla owner Elon Musk said he tried to dissuade US President Donald Trump from imposing tariffs, but was unsuccessful. His comments come at a time when India’s GDP has grown at a faster-than-expected rate of 8.2 percent, despite US tariffs.
Speaking on Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath’s ‘People by WTF’ podcast, he said: “I mean, the president has made it clear that he likes tariffs. You know, I tried to talk him out of that, but to no avail.”
He also mentioned that he was a supporter of free trade, adding that tariffs or other such barriers made little sense, even at a basic level.
“Would you want tariffs between you and everyone else on an individual level? That would make life very difficult. Would you want tariffs between every city? No, that would be very annoying. Would you want tariffs between every state in the United States? That would be disastrous for the economy. So why do you want tariffs between countries?”
Indian GDP growth not deterred by US tariffs
The Indian economy grew at a stronger-than-expected 8.2% in the second quarter of FY26. According to official data, this is a six-quarter high, compared to 7.8% in the first quarter of FY25 and 5.6% in the same quarter of FY25.
Growth was driven by agriculture, manufacturing, public administration and other services, as well as financial services, real estate and professional services, supported by a low and favorable base.
Commenting on India’s GDP figures, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran said, “The outlook for the full year is now 7% or above… The picture appears to be one of steady growth in the third quarter.” »
“The confluence of stable inflation, sustained public investment and reform momentum enables the economy to weather risks, as evidenced by the upward revisions to GDP growth projections for FY26 by various agencies,” he explained.
Nageswaran added that ongoing structural reforms, such as implementation of labor codes, rationalization of GST rate, new personal income tax regime and deregulation initiatives, continue to improve efficiency and competitiveness.
Can the United States achieve “China plus” without India?
Given India’s economic growth despite US tariffs, former US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt said US companies “can’t have a China plus one strategy” without having a strong presence in India.
“I would like to emphasize that we all have a huge stake in getting the US-India strategic relationship back on track, including the current disagreements on trade issues. And I believe energy will be the key to unlocking that,” he said while speaking to Hindustan Times.
