Elon Musk's dozens of meetings with presidents, prime ministers and political candidates show his growing political influence CNN Business

Over the past three years, Elon Musk has met dozens of times with presidents, prime ministers, lawmakers, government officials and political candidates around the world.

Some of these meetings have been highly publicized, such as his visit to Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Musk's criticism of an anti-Semitic post. Other meetings, such as the recent conversation with Argentine President Javier Millei, the world only glimpses through. Millionaire's social media posts.

Known topics of conversation range from business opportunities for Musk's companies to policy issues such as elections and trade, energy, education and population management, according to a CNN review of Musk's meetings, calls and conversations with political figures around the world since August 2021. While some of his ties to those leaders go back further, in that time, Musk has gone from being one of the world's richest and most influential businessmen to an increasingly powerful player in global affairs.

Taken together, the meetings show how Musk is admired not only for his company and deep pocketbook but also for his ability to influence the course of war through his Starlink satellite service; his views on artificial intelligence, the next major wave of technological development; and his role in influencing public opinion through his platform, X.

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian government officials, including Starlink, since late 2022. CNN did not independently confirm the conversations, so they are not included in our analysis. . Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN the report was “absolutely false”. He said Musk and Putin spoke only once, adding that the conversation was over the phone and took place before 2022. Musk's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.

For Musk, conversing with world leaders is a virtuous cycle: owning or managing six prominent companies puts him among figures whose support often accelerates their growth. Instead, those leaders' eagerness to woo Musk's business gives him an opportunity to advise on his other pet interests, such as global birth rates and immigration.

At the same time, the South African-born billionaire has become a political power player in his adopted home, the United States. He hosted live stream campaign events on X for Florida governors Ron DeSantis and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who later dropped out of the race, as well as former President Donald Trump. Musk has since thrown his weight — and tens of millions of dollars — behind Trump, attending and hosting rallies for him and criticizing (and in some cases, spreading false information) his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“He's trying to be a global influencer, and I guess he's decided to do more than just use X,” said James Lewis, director of the strategic technology program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Of course, it's not unusual for corporate leaders to occasionally meet with government officials, and Musk isn't the only big business name to publicly weigh in on the upcoming US presidential election.

But the extent of Musk's public political involvement is unusual for the chief executive of a public company like Tesla — as well as the owner of several powerful private companies, executive leadership experts told CNN.

“What's different is that there's a political aspect, and most CEOs stay out of politics,” Lewis said. “They're going to other heads of state, basically, to make the trade conditions better for their product, maybe to lobby on a certain point, but they don't usually do politics,” he said, adding with Musk, “one of the things he does has a political tone.”

At least some of Musk's political connections appear to have benefited his company. In May 2022, Musk met with then Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to launch Starlink in the country, a major new market for the satellite business. In February 2023, he had a call with then-Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador about a new Tesla manufacturing plant in the state of Nuevo León, for which the company later received $153 million worth of incentives from the state. In May 2023, he met with Chinese government officials shortly after Tesla announced plans for a new battery plant in Shanghai; Musk made a surprise return to China this April for a visit with Premier Li Qiang, just weeks before the company broke ground on the facility.

Other world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have met with Musk to ask Tesla to invest in their countries.

CNN's analysis includes only meetings for which at least some information is publicly available. It is possible that the billionaire has calls or meetings with leaders that he does not post.

“One could say he doesn't have to pay lobbyists, because he's his own lobbyist around the world,” said William Klepper, a professor of management at Columbia Business School who focuses on executive leadership. But, he added, “When you're putting other people's money at risk, you have to moderate your actions … When you go to this extreme, you can affect your business.”

Kasturi did not hesitate to face extremes. He has warned of the downfall of America if Democrats are elected, pushed false conspiracy theories on issues such as mail-in voting, and warned at public events of a “weak mind virus” that threatens the progress of society.

Separately, Musk has taken heat for posting an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory, racist false claims about immigration and the dangerous 'Pizzagate' conspiracy, as well as a Holocaust joke on X.

Recently, Musk's political activism has begun to have a real impact on his companies: brands have pulled their ads from X, reducing its value. And SpaceX sued a California regulator earlier this month after it denied a bid to allow more rocket launches over the billionaire's controversial comments, claiming it violated Musk's freedom of speech. (The agency has not commented on the lawsuit.)

CNN's analysis also suggests that Musk, in particular, has worked to build influence among a set of right-wing world leaders, including Modi, Bolsonaro, Miley and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

“He's probably more comfortable with … these people who want to meet him, and not everyone wants to meet Elon Musk,” Lewis said. “It is a bird of a feather. He likes to meet people who would be happy to have Elon Musk.”

During a conference of Italy's right-wing Brothers of Italy party last year, Musk railed against “illegal immigration” and the “wicked mind virus” that he said was engulfing the United States. Kasturi called it “evil” and warned of it moving to Italy.

India's Modi, who was recently re-elected to a rare third consecutive term, used his plans to boost electric vehicle production – including conversations with Musk about a possible Tesla factory – as a campaign talking point, although the two men had previously met in India. . The year in which Musk was expected to announce that the facility was rescheduled.

Musk has met with Milli multiple times during his first year at the helm of Argentina, during which the president has faced protests over a huge increase in poverty rates as a result of austerity measures. “I recommend investing in Argentina,” Musk said in an X post after a May meeting between the pair. In another post last month, Musk said, “Miley is bringing prosperity to Argentina.” (Argentina has huge reserves of lithium, an essential ingredient in the batteries used in Tesla cars.)

Now, as he campaigns for Trump, Musk may be setting himself up for his most prominent political role yet: a possible future position in the Trump White House. Musk and Trump have publicly discussed having the billionaire lead a new government efficiency commission — which Musk jokingly calls the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, after Musk's favorite meme and cryptocurrency — if the former president is re-elected.

Procedure: CNN's analysis is based on information compiled from news reports, the X Post and press releases. It is possible that other meetings exist, or other matters are publicly available that were discussed outside. Position title as per meeting time.