Rishi Sunak to court Elon Musk after Tesla billionaire meets Macron

Elon Musk denounced the UK at the start of the year when he repeatedly visited the continent to participate in investment events. Photo: MICHEL EULER/POOL/EPA -EFE/Shutterstock

Elon Musk is being invited to attend the Big Investor Summit in London later this year to showcase the power of the UK after billionaire Tesla snubbed the UK in favor of France.< /p>

Rishi Sunak wants Mr. Musk, founder of SpaceX and one of the richest men in the world, to be one of the star guests at the Global Investment Summit expected to take place in November.

The government also plans to invite Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, according to Sky News, which first announced its intention to invite Musk.

Attempts to woo the owner of Twitter were made after he insulted the UK on several occasions earlier this year during his visits. to Europe.

In May, the entrepreneur flew to Paris for the government-backed «Choose France» investment summit. During the visit, Musk met with President Emmanuel Macron and Finance Minister Bruno Le Mer at the Elysee Palace.

On the next trip, just a few weeks later, the head of SpaceX spoke at the French Viva Tech summit. one of the flagship technology investment events in Paris.

Me and @ElonMusk talked about the attractiveness of France and the significant progress in the field of electric vehicles and energy. We also talked about digital regulation. We have so many things to do together. See you this afternoon at the #ChooseFrance Summit! pic.twitter.com/wkdwjv45OG

– Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 15, 2023

Mr. Musk spoke at the London event via video link from Paris during the trip.

In addition to demonstrating the enduring appeal of the UK, bringing Mr. Musk to London could also be a return on investment.

Tesla chief has built only one gigafactory in Europe so far, in Berlin, but said it would «strongly consider locating in England in the future.»

French ministers also lobbied the Tesla CEO to set up a battery factory in their country .

A spokesman for the Department of Business and Commerce declined to confirm whether Mr. Musk was invited, but said about 200 executives and «Officials have approached high-end investors.»

Government Global The investment summit aims to attract «high-quality investment» to the UK by bringing together potential investors with ministers and government officials.

Bill Gates was a guest at the first event held in 2021, as was JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon.