Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni defended her ties with tech billionaire Elon Musk. According to a report by the news agency AP, Meloni has assured the country’s lawmakers that her friendship with Musk would not affect her decisions on issues involving his economic interests. Since taking office in 2022, Meloni, who has frequently met the Tesla and SpaceX founder, asserted that she still aims to attract investments to Italy. Recently, Italy approved a framework allowing foreign space companies to operate in the country, a move projected to bring €7.3 billion ($7.7 billion) in investments by 2026.
What Meloni said about her ties with Musk
Responding to questions during a customary parliamentary discussion ahead of the EU summit in Brussels, Meloni said: “I can be a friend of Elon Musk and at the same time the head of the first Italian government that made a new law to regulate private activity in space.”
Criticising her predecessors, Meloni stated that former Italian leaders “who thought they had a good relationship, even a friendship, with a foreign leader, they had to slavishly follow what the others did.”
She emphasised her independence, saying she maintains good relationships “with many people” but “I don’t take orders from anyone.”
Meloni and Musk’s friendship over the years
Meloni and Musk’s friendship has garnered attention in the past. In September, Musk denied rumours of a romantic relationship after a photo of them at a black-tie event in New York went viral. At the event, Musk presented Meloni with an award.
A year ago, Musk appeared at an event for youth members of Meloni’s party in Italy. More recently, he used his social media platform X (earlier Twitter) to criticise an Italian court decision blocking Meloni’s plan to process migrants rescued at sea in Albania. His comments also prompted a sharp response from Italy’s president.
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