Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been on a busy tour of Europe, meeting with various political and business leaders. The world’s richest person, worth $233 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has been discussing topics such as innovation, artificial intelligence, market rules, and Tesla’s expansion plans.
One of the highlights of his trip was a power lunch in Paris on Friday with Bernard Arnault, the CEO of LVMH and the world’s second-richest person, worth $202 billion.
The two billionaires were joined by Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, and Arnault’s sons Alexandre and Antoine, who posted photos of the meeting on Instagram. The location of the lunch was Cheval Blanc, a luxury hotel run by the French luxury conglomerate.
It is not clear what the two tycoons talked about, but Arnault reportedly told French TV station Quotidien that he thought Musk was “an exceptional entrepreneur”. Later that day, Musk joked at the VivaTech conference that he could launch a perfume in conjunction with the Arnault family.
Musk also met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday to discuss building a Tesla factory in France, Reuters reported. Macron tweeted a photo with Musk along with the caption “Let’s work together! #ChooseFrance”. France is one of several European countries that want to host Tesla’s next battery factory.
On Thursday, Musk met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to discuss AI, birth rates, European market rules, and innovation, Meloni tweeted. He also visited Rome and tweeted a photo of himself at the Colosseum.
Musk also spoke at the VivaTech conference in France on Friday, reiterating his warnings on the dangers to humanity posed by artificial intelligence. He also admitted that he “didn’t think anyone would actually agree” to the pause on AI development he called for back in March. He also joked, “If I’m so smart, why did I pay so much for Twitter?”
Musk’s tour of Europe shows his influence and ambition as a global leader in technology and innovation. He is also pursuing his space ambitions with SpaceX and could see his wealth soar even higher if the company spins off its Starlink satellite-broadband unit in an IPO.