Musk denies romantic rumours as Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni defends her friendship with him

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni defended her friendship with US tech billionaire and Trump confidant Elon Musk on Wednesday, telling Italian lawmakers her relationship with him would not influence her decisions in areas where he has economic interests.

“I can be a friend of Elon Musk and at the same time head the first Italian government to introduce a new law regulating private activity in space,” Meloni said in response to questions during a parliamentary discussion ahead of a European Union summit in Brussels this week.

Meloni has met with Musk frequently since her far-right-led government took power in 2022, aiming to attract investments to Italy. This summer, Meloni's government approved a framework allowing foreign space companies to operate in Italy, a move expected to generate 7.3 billion euros (USD 7.7 billion) in investments by 2026.

Taking a swipe at her predecessors, Meloni noted previous Italian leaders “who thought they had a good relationship, even a friendship, with a foreign leader, had to slavishly follow what others did.” She added she maintains “good relationships with many people,” but emphasised, “I don’t take orders from anyone.”

Musk denies romantic rumors

The friendship between Meloni and Musk has attracted attention in the past. Musk denied rumors of a romantic relationship after a photo of the two looking fondly at each other went viral in September 2023. The pair had been at a black-tie event in New York, where Musk presented Meloni with an award.

Musk also appeared at an event for youth members of Meloni's party in Italy a year ago. More recently, he used his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to criticise an Italian court decision that has hindered Meloni’s plans to vet migrants rescued at sea in Albania. Musk's comments were met with a strong rebuke from Italy's president.