Musk to Celebrate Meloni as Italy Eyes Space Sector Investment

When Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visits New York later this month to receive a global citizenship award, Elon Musk will be the one to hand her the prize.

The Tesla Inc. co-founder and X owner will present Meloni with the Atlantic Council’s Global Citizen Award at a ceremony on Sept. 23, according to people familiar with the matter. Previous recipients include Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Musk and Meloni have met on a number of occasions, including at a political festival last December thrown by the prime minister’s right-wing Brothers of Italy party. Appearing onstage, Musk discussed Italy’s demographic crisis – the country has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe – and exhorted the crowd to “make more Italians.” 

“As simple as it sounds, if people do not have children there is no new generation,” Musk told the audience, echoing a prominent concern of Meloni’s. The billionaire also warned of the dangers of the “woke mind-virus” — a favorite talking point — and unchecked migration. 

The Atlantic Council event won’t be the only meeting this month between Meloni and the world’s richest man. They’re also scheduling a closed-door conversation to discuss investment opportunities in Italy’s space and artificial intelligence sectors, the people said.

Italy approved a new regulatory framework in June that grants foreign space companies permission to operate in the country, according to a statement by the minister of industry. Italy expects to generate €7.3 billion of investment in the space sector by 2026. 

The controversial tech CEO already has a head start. Italy is among the countries serviced by Starlink, which delivers broadband Internet through a global network of more than 6,000 SpaceX satellites. Both companies are owned by Musk.

Last April, Starlink claimed that Telecom Italia SpA, the country’s largest telecom provider, was obstructing the rollout of its high-speed Internet services. 

Representatives for SpaceX declined to comment, as did a spokesperson for the Italian government.

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