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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Technology
Nick Robins-Early

Elon Musk shows he still has the White House’s ear on Trump’s Middle East trip

person wearing black suit and silver tie waves
Elon Musk attends a panel at the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday. Photograph: Ali Haider/EPA

Over the course of an eight-minute interview, Elon Musk touted his numerous businesses and vision of a “Star Trek future” while telling the crowd that his Tesla Optimus robots had performed a dance for Donald Trump and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, to the tune of YMCA. He also announced that Starlink, his satellite internet company, had struck a deal for use in Saudi Arabia for maritime and aviation usage; looking to the near future, he expressed his desire to bring Tesla’s self-driving robotaxis to the country.

“We could not be more appreciative of having a lifetime partner and a friend like you, Elon, to the Kingdom,” Saudi Arabia’s minister of communications and IT, Abdullah Alswaha, told Musk.

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