After months of online flattery and praise, President Javier Milei will finally met with billionaire businessman Elon Musk in the United States.
Milei, 53, has flown to Miami late Wednesday (April 9), where he will receive an award from a Jewish organisation.
Altering his plans for a whistlestop visit to the United States, government sources have confirmed the Argentine head of state will extend his trip and stay until the weekend, ahead of a meeting in Texas with Musk, the tycoon behind SpaceX, Tesla and the X social network (formerly Twitter).
The meeting will take place this Saturday (April 13) at Tesla’s factory in Austin, Texas, confirmed Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni.
Local reporting suggests that Argentina’s head of state is seeking investment from Musk in the automobile and communications industries.
Musk, one of the richest men on the planet, and Milei have shared several compliments via social media.
For his part, the Tesla chief executive officer posted Milei’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos from January, calling it a “good explanation of what makes countries more of less prosperous.”
Milei has lauded Musk too. “I have no doubt that Elon Musk will be an active player and he will have a major role in the new Argentina that is leaving behind the decadence of 100 years of populism,” Milei said in an interview with Bloomberg.
Earlier on April, Musk’s satellite Internet service provider, Starlink, began operating in Argentina.
One potential avenue for collaboration between the duo is lithium extraction.
Tesla recently began refining the battery metal in Texas. Lithium is an essential component of the batteries needed to power the firm’s electric vehicles.
Argentina is home to some of the world’s largest lithium deposits, accounting for 21 percent of global reserves.
The head of state had previously hinted that Musk may travel to Buenos Aires for a meeting or a conference involving top tech minds.
While in Miami, he was honoured as “an ambassador of light” by a Jewish organisation.
The following day ,he met with Brazilian economist Ilan Goldfajn, the head of the Inter-American Development Bank and will deliver a speech at Florida International University that afternoon, according to a copy of his agenda shared by his press team.
SOURCE: www.batimes.com.ar