Elon Musk denies affair with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni

Elon Musk has refuted claims of an affair with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after photos of them together caused a social media frenzy. He described her as ‘beautiful’ but denied any romantic involvement.

Images circulated online depicted the Tesla CEO and the Italian Prime Minister looking into each other’s eyes at the Global Citizen Awards in New York City. Musk was presenting Meloni with the award.

A user on X commented, ‘Find someone who looks at you the same way the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni looks at Elon Musk,’ while sharing a photo of Musk touching Meloni’s shoulder. Another wrote, ‘You can’t have mELONi without ELON.’ The New York Post even described the event as a ‘public love-in’ between the billionaire and Italy’s first female prime minister.

As the images spread on social media, Musk took to his platform to deny any romantic ties with Meloni. ‘I was there with my Mom. There is no romantic relationship whatsoever with PM Meloni,’ he posted in response to a photo showing them gazing at each other at a banquet table, with the caption, ‘We all know what happened next.’

Musk and Meloni have previously met on several occasions. The Italian prime minister hosted Musk at her official residence in Rome in June the previous year. Musk returned to Italy that December to speak at a political event organised by Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party.

They have reportedly discussed shared interests, including the declining birth rates in the West and the potential of AI. Meloni, who separated from her long-time partner Andrea Giambruno after his inappropriate comments on Italian television in 2023, had specifically requested Musk to present her with the Global Citizen Award from the Atlantic Council think tank.

In his remarks before presenting the award, Musk praised Meloni, calling her ‘someone who is even more beautiful inside than outside,’ and described her as ‘authentic, honest, and thoughtful.’

Meloni responded by calling Musk a ‘precious genius’ and outlined her vision for western conservatism to the crowd of over 600 people at Manhattan’s Ziegfeld Ballroom. She questioned the term ‘nationalism’ due to its aggressive connotations but defended the use of ‘nation’ and ‘patriotism.’

Meloni described patriotism as ‘the best response to declinism’ and challenged the notion of the West’s inevitable decline. Musk nodded throughout her speech and gave her a standing ovation when she finished.