The world's richest man Elon Musk and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni seem to have formed the most surprising transatlantic friendship in 2023.Underlying their budding rapport are aligned positions on political issues such as immigration and population, as well as shared interests in tech industry regulation and risks associated with artificial intelligence.

Musk currently manages Tesla, Space Exploration Technology Company (SpaceX) and the X platform. The 52-year-old world's richest man has visited Italy several times this year and was invited as a "surprise guest" at the annual "Atreju Conference" organized by Meloni's Italian Brotherhood Party this month.

There are many signs of the current closeness between these two transatlantic crossover figures. In June, Meloni hosted Musk at his official residence in Rome, where the two talked about artificial intelligence and displayed their friendship to the outside world amid laughter and hugs — most visitors simply shook hands.


Musk has said he spoke to Meloni, 46, earlier this year when he was looking for an ancient Roman venue where he and Zuckerberg could have a cage fight. Musk also liked the Italian leader's post on X in October this year, when Meloni announced her breakup with her partner Andrea Giambruno, with whom she had a daughter.

complementary interests

Stefano Quintarelli, a former Italian parliamentarian, technology entrepreneur and venture capitalist, said, "For Meloni, Musk is a great visionary, so it is easy to see what she can get from this relationship: exposure to a new world that is full of charm for her. What is less clear is what he (Musk) gets from it."

Some people in Europe believe thatMusk is seeking political allies in the region as the European Union seeks to regulate artificial intelligence.

Musk also faces EU scrutiny over his ownership of X - the social media platform is facing an EU investigation into its handling of illegal content and disinformation. If it is found to have violated the EU's online content regulations, Platform X will face the risk of heavy fines. By this time, some advertisers dissatisfied with some of Musk's posts had withdrawn from the platform, causing a heavy impact on the company's revenue.

Musk’s appearance is also seen as an effort by Meloni to enhance his credentials in the technology field. Italy will take over the rotating presidency of the G7 in 2024, and Meloni hopes to make artificial intelligence regulation one of the central issues discussed by the G7. She has said that artificial intelligence may be "the greatest challenge of our time."

Musk has previously established an artificial intelligence company and believes that AI technology is one of the biggest threats that mankind will face. Musk’s star power in all areas of technology, as well as his willingness to speak out about the benefits and potential pitfalls of artificial intelligence, may boost Meloni’s efforts to put the technology on the international political agenda.

Meloni, who won the Italian premiership in 2022, rose to prominence as a right-wing radical amid Italy's culture wars over immigration and traditional family values. For years, her signature policy promise has been to stem illegal migration from Africa across the Mediterranean to Italy — and she has worked to stem the rise since taking office.

This fall, when Meloni criticized Germany for funding NGOs to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean, Musk weighed in on X: "Germany is undoubtedly violating Italy's sovereignty by transporting large numbers of illegal immigrants into Italy: it feels like aggression..."

common goal

The two also found common ground in boosting birth rates and fighting what Musk calls the "woke mind virus." Both themes figured prominently at this month's Politika festival in Rome.

The idea of ​​"woke" originally referred to being awake and alert to systemic racial discrimination. Nowadays, the political and social connotations covered by the word "woke" extend to social issues such as gender, transgender people, environmentalists, abortion, and sexual harassment. “Woke culture” has turned into a culture war in the United States.

On the population front, Musk said at an event in Rome this month, "Every year I look at the birth rate and it's a little depressing. You can't rely on other countries for immigration. Italy belongs to the Italian people."

The entrepreneur said he would be concerned about investing in a country with a low birthrate like Italy. "Are there going to be enough people there to work?" Musk said at the event. "Please raise more Italians, that's what I'm saying".


Meloni, a staunch conservative, has long called for the restoration of multiple children in Italian society and believes that progressive "mainstream culture" denigrates the rights of parents.

Meloni is Italy's first female leader and the country's first prime minister from the anti-establishment far-right. Since taking office, however, Meloni has distanced herself from her far-right past and pursued mainstream conservative policies on economic and foreign affairs, including supporting Italy's entry into the euro zone, a security alliance with the United States, and support for Ukraine's defense against Russian military action.

Of course, if there is any difference in stance between Musk and Meloni, surrogacy is undoubtedly the most inconsistent point between them. Musk, 52, is already the father of 11 children, several of whom were born through surrogacy. However, Italian Prime Minister Meloni is a strong opponent of surrogacy technology, and surrogacy is also a crime in Italy.

However, the differences in this area are obviously not enough to turn the two against each other. In July this year, Italian opposition lawmaker Alessandro Zan shouted in parliament that Meloni should look Musk in the eyes and tell him he is a criminal. Meloni had no response.

Meloni's government is also currently seeking to let carmakers produce cars and batteries in Italy to help offset a decline in the country's manufacturing sector. Italy's long-dominant carmaker Fiat is now a smaller part of the Italian economy as its owner Stellantis gradually moves production elsewhere. So far, Musk has not said he might consider opening a Tesla factory in Italy.

Musk has made several high-profile trips to Europe this year. In addition to meeting with Meloni, he also met with the leaders of Britain and France.Such frequent trips to Europe may in themselves represent a major change for the world's richest man, who has spent much of his time in the U.S. states of Texas and California in recent years.