Eliana Rashevski
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Billionaire Elon Musk and Argentina’s libertarian president vowed to work together on Friday to promote free markets as well as potential lithium projects after the two like-minded men met in Texas, home of the tycoon’s electric car company Tesla ( NASDAQ:). .
President Javier Miley’s chief spokesman said the pair visited Tesla’s headquarters in Austin and discussed a variety of topics, from the need to accelerate global birth rate decline to technological development while defending “freedom.”
Musk, one of the world’s richest men, has previously demonstrated his admiration for Milea’s unconditional commitment to private enterprise and his disdain for what he sees as socialist excesses.
In comments to local media, Argentina’s new ambassador to the United States, Gerardo Werthein, noted that Musk and Miley also discussed lithium, an ultra-light metal considered key to the rechargeable batteries needed for future electric vehicle fleets.
“We have been talking about investment opportunities in Argentina in the lithium sector… We are very interested not only in exporting raw materials, but also in adding value,” Wertein said in comments published by La Nacion newspaper.
“(Musk) said he wanted to help Argentina,” Werthein added.
Miley also offered his support in the controversy surrounding the social network Mask X (formerly Twitter) in Brazil, according to a statement from Miley spokesman Manuel Adorni, which was published on X.
Last Sunday, a Brazilian Supreme Court judge opened an investigation into Musk after the billionaire said he would restore X accounts that the judge ordered blocked.