Italy: Meloni meets Musk in Rome

Rome: Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk in Rome later on Thursday, a government source said, after holding brief talks with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in the morning.

Talks between Meloni and Musk focused on the low birth rate in Italy, the issue of deregulation in the European Union and the risks related to the use of artificial intelligence, the source said.

Another official said the meeting with Meloni was part of a “European tour” by the Tesla chief, who will also meet French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday.

Macron said he would promote France to Musk as a possible site for one of the electric vehicle (EV) maker’s factories as well as tech regulation.

A spokesman for Tesla did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Earlier on Thursday, Musk and Tajani held a discussion on the automotive and aerospace sectors, the minister said in a tweet.

“Ready to collaborate on the challenges of our time such as cybersecurity,” Tajani added.

Reporting by Angelo Amante, Giuseppe Fonte and Giulio Piovaccari; editing by Federico Maccioni and Jonathan Oatis