Elon Musk has denied having an affair with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after photos of the two together sparked outrage on social media. Musk called the lawmaker “beautiful.”
Photos shared online show the Tesla founder and the Italian prime minister gazing into each other’s eyes at the Global Citizen Awards in New York City on Monday, as Musk presents Meloni with the title award.
“Find someone who looks at you like Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni looks at Elon Musk,” wrote one X user, who shared a photo of Musk touching Meloni’s shoulder.
“You can’t have mELONi without ELON,” added another.
The New York Post even went so far to call the event a “public love affair” between the world’s richest man and Italy’s first female prime minister.
Photos shared online show the Tesla founder and the Italian prime minister locking eyes at the Global Citizen Awards in New York City on Monday.
The photos from the event caused a stir on social media, sparking speculation about their relationship
But when the photos started circulating on his social media platform, Musk denied that he had an amorous relationship with Meloni during the gala event.
“I was there with my mother. There is no romantic relationship with PM Meloni,” Musk wrote on X in response to a post featuring a photo of them gazing into each other’s eyes at a party table, with the funny caption: “We all know what happened next.”
Musk and Meloni have met several times. For example, the Italian Prime Minister received the billionaire at her official residence in Rome in June last year.
In December he returned to the country, where he spoke at a political festival organised by Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party.
They have previously discussed their shared interest in the declining birth rates in the West and the positive potential of AI, according to the Telegraph.
Meloni, who broke up with her partner Andrea Giambruno in 2023 after he made indecent comments on Italian television, even asked Musk to give her the Global Citizen Award from the Atlantic Council think tank.
Meloni had asked Musk to present her with the Global Citizen Award during the ceremony in New York City on Monday evening
In a brief speech before presenting the award, Musk said Meloni was “someone who is even more beautiful on the inside than he is on the outside.”
“You can’t always say that about politicians,” he joked, going on to call her “authentic, honest and thoughtful.”
The leader of Italy’s right-wing party responded by calling the American businesswoman a “precious genius” before outlining her views on Western conservatism.
“I don’t know if nationalism is the right word because it often brings to mind doctrines of aggression or authoritarianism,” she told the crowd of more than 600 at Manhattan’s Ziegfeld Ballroom.
“However, I know that we should not be ashamed to use and defend words and concepts such as ‘nation’ and ‘patriotism.'”
Meloni called patriotism “the best response to declinism,” criticizing the perception of the “inevitable decline of the West.”
Musk nodded during her speech and stood to applaud her when she finished.