What is Musk doing in Saudi Arabia during Trump's visit to the Kingdom
US President Donald Trump began his three-nation Gulf tour on Tuesday in Riyadh and announced a haul of over $1 trillion in investments on Day 1. Trump also signed a defence agreement worth $142 billion, according to the White House, allowing Saudi Arabia to buy state-of-the-art equipment and services from American companies. This was a powerful boost for the president, who has embarked on the first major global tour during his second term in the Oval Office, determined to prove to his detractors that his deal-focused approach can net big gains for the American economy.
When he stepped out of the Air Force One at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital, he was greeted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de-facto ruler of the kingdom. Besides dealmaking, the two will also put their heads together to try and find a solution to a host of issues ranging from US efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear programme, end the war in Gaza, and limit the increase in oil prices. But Trump isn't alone.
A battery of the top honchos of America Inc accompanied the US Commander-in-Chief. Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone, Larry Fink of BlackRock and Jane Fraser of Citigroup came from the financial world. Andy Jassy, the chief executive of Amazon, Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia and AI czar Sam Altman of OpenAI brought in the tech weight. But one name that has aroused great interest due to his proximity to Trump has been Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
Musk, who leads the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is considered close to Trump in US policy circles and has his fingerprints on many of Trump's actions. He has also attended Cabinet meetings and joined Trump on Air Force One, the US president's official aircraft. But of late, the tech billionaire's sway over Trump seems to be waning. This was especially clear on the issue of waging a tariff war by slapping punishing import taxes on almost all of US trade partners. While Trump went ahead with the plan, Musk seemed opposed to it, with his trade network spread across the world in China and Europe. Yet, Musk remains a powerful voice in tech and policy circles, and also owns social media platform X and AI company xAI.
Musk, the richest person in the world, joined President Trump and top US and Saudi officials for lunch in Riyadh. The executives, whose sphere of operation spans tech firms, banking, consumer groups and other industries, may look forward to pocket investments from wealthy Saudi investors, businesses and government departments, the New York Times reported. The executives may also try to convince Trump administration officials, such as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, to loosen tariffs that are hurting their businesses.
Musk was seen briefly chatting with both Trump and the crown prince at the Royal Court during a coffee ceremony. Trump patted Musk on the back as he introduced the Tesla boss to MBS, the Hill reported. This interaction took place before a palace reception in honour of the visiting US president.
Musk also attended the Saudi-US investment forum that's being held on the sidelines of Trump's visit. The polarising chief executive's electric carmaker Tesla drove into the kingdom only in April. Before this, the billionaire CEO and the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, called Public Investment Fund or the PIF, were embroiled in a feud dating back to 2018. The conflict had roots in Musk's public announcement that he had secured funds from PIF to take Tesla private, claims that later proved to be untrue and also led to heightened regulatory scrutiny of Tesla and Musk in the US.
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