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Viral photographs and videos circulating on social media have got people speculating that Tesla CEO Elon Musk is romantically involved with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The duo recently attended the Global Citizen Awards dinner at Midtown Manhatten's Ziegfeld Ballroom on Monday, September 23, sparking rumors of a romantic affair.
While at the ceremony, at Meloni's request, Musk introduced her onto the stage and presented her with the Global Citizen Award. They also sat next to each other at the event and engaged in conversation. In one particular photograph from the event, the duo, sitting side-by-side, were seen looking into each other's eyes.
This one picture ran riot through social media, fuelling a slew of romance rumors. Prominent X user and Sunfluencer CEO Dr. Simon Goddek posted the picture on the platform on September 24 and captioned his tweet:
"We all know what happened next… 😏"
However, the duo are not romantically involved. While Giorgia Meloni has not yet commented on the rumors, Elon Musk outright denied them in a reply to Dr. Simon Goddek's tweet.
"I was there with my Mom. There is no romantic relationship whatsoever with PM Meloni," Musk commented.
Elon's mother, Maye Musk, also replied to the tweet by jokingly saying that she went back to the hotel with Elon that night. Apart from Goddek, the official X handle of Silicon Valley Tesla owners also posted the same picture on X and asked people if they think Musk and Meloni would date. Musk once again replied to the tweet:
"We are not dating"
Elon Musk called Giorgia Meloni "authentic, honest, and thoughtful"
As mentioned, the rumors surrounding Elon Musk and Giorgia Meloni hit the internet when the duo attended the Atlantic Council’s Global Citizen Awards dinner on Monday night at Manhatten, New York. During the black-tie event, Meloni even requested Musk introduce her to the stage.
During the introduction, Elon Musk said that the Italian Prime Minister was "even more beautiful on the inside" than she was on the outside. He also described her as "authentic, honest, and thoughtful". The Tesla CEO later joked:
"That can’t always be said about politicians."
The 700-plus people in the crowd laughed at Elon's quip as Meloni made her way to the stage to accept the award from the Tesla CEO, who she called a "precious genius." In her 15-minute speech, the right-wing leader talked about nationalism and the idea of a declining West. According to her, the best response to the idea of the inevitable decline of the West was patriotism.
"I don’t know if nationalism is the correct word because it often recalls doctrines of aggression or authoritarianism," she said, adding, "However, I know that we should not be ashamed to use and defend words and concepts like nation and patriotism."
This is not the first time Elon Musk and Giorgia Meloni have met. The Tesla CEO flew out to the Italian Prime Minister's official residence in Rome in June 2023. He also flew out to Italy again in December 2023 to speak at a political festival organized by the Italian PM's far-right Brothers of Italy party.
