Meloni speaks to friend Elon Musk: His vision would be key resource for Italy, US

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday spoke to Elon Musk, who backed Donald Trump in his successful presidential campaign and said the tech billionaire's vision would be an important resource for the US and Italy.

"In the past few hours, I have heard from my friend @elonmusk. I am convinced that his commitment and vision will be an important resource for the US and Italy, in a spirit of collaboration aimed at addressing future challenges," Meloni tweeted along with a photo of Musk and her embracing each other.

Meloni, 53, and Musk, 47, have repeatedly praised each other publicly in recent months, so much so that the world's richest man had to respond to a joke on X in September to say that the two were not dating.

In September, Musk presented Meloni with an award from the Atlantic Council think tank, giving a speech in which he said the Italian Prime Minister was "someone who is even more beautiful inside than outside". Meloni replied to Musk that he was a "precious genius".

They were later photographed gazing into each other's eyes at a banquet table, giving rise to online jokes and sparking a flurry of rumours on social media of a romantic relationship between the two. However, Musk confirmed he was not dating Meloni and said he was present at the event with his mother, Maye Musk, who also said the same.

The tech billionaire also flew to Italy twice to meet the far-right leader in June and December last year.

In December 2023, Musk attended Meloni's right-wing Brothers of Italy party's annual gathering, 'Atreju'. During the event, the tech billionaire advised people to increase Italy's low birth rate, which is also the lowest in Europe. Musk also warned about the dangers of unchecked migration, aligning his views with those of Meloni and her party.

Musk's views on illegal immigration are also in sync with Trump, who called the tech billionaire a "special guy", a "new star" and a "super genius". The world's richest man had endorsed Trump earlier this year and aggressively campaigned for him.

Earlier on Wednesday, Meloni congratulated Trump for his election victory in the US presidential polls, saying it would strengthen ties between the two countries.

According to races called by The Associated Press, Trump secured 295 of 538 electoral votes, comfortably crossing the 270 mark, with stunning victories in the key swing states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia. He was also ahead in Nevada and Arizona, another two swing states. His Democratic rival and Vice President Kamala Harris got 226 electoral votes.

(with inputs from Reuters)