Elon Musk Joins Trump on Saudi Trip
Elon Musk may be stepping back from his government duties in Washington, but he remains closely aligned with former President Donald Trump—joining him this week on a high-profile trip to the Middle East.
Musk is set to attend a U.S.-Saudi investment summit in Riyadh on Tuesday, where he’ll appear alongside Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a high-level luncheon aimed at strengthening economic ties between the two nations.
Though Musk arrived in Saudi Arabia separately from Trump’s Air Force One delegation, he is slated as a featured speaker at the event.
The forum will host a who’s who of American corporate powerhouses from both Wall Street and Silicon Valley. Notable attendees include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Kimbal Musk, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Google CFO Ruth Porat, and Boeing executive Kelly Ortberg.
The gathering comes as Trump continues to court Saudi investment in U.S. industries, hoping to secure major financial commitments for American projects.
Top executives from some of the most influential U.S. companies—BlackRock, Citigroup, IBM, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines—are also expected to be in attendance, signaling the significance of the forum as a nexus of global business and political influence.
But the gathering also shows the close ties already in place between Wall Street and Saudi’s oil infested wealth.
Strong business ties between many of these American companies and Riyadh are already in place.
Trump’s family and Musk himself also have a cross-section of interests in the region.
Musk launched his Tesla dealership in the kingdom in April. Relations between him and the Saudi royal family have improved since Musk took a high-profile role in the Trump administration.
And state-backed funds from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were major investors in a $6 billion fundraising round for Musk, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Additionally, a UAE ministry announced in March a multiyear partnership with Musk’s brother Kimball for his drone light show company. Kimball Musk will also be at Tuesday’s lunch.
Musk announced earlier this month he will spend more time on his business interests and less time with his work at the Department of Government Efficiency.
But his close relationship with Trump continues. He’ll be in the room when the president announces blockbuster economic investments from the Saudis.
Trump wants $1 trillion in Saudi investments. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will reportedly offer $600 billion.
The president is likely to push for more.
‘We’ve been very good to them,’ he said Monday.
Washington and Riyadh are heavily invested in one another, primarily driven by oil trade and security cooperation. Many American and Saudi companies have joint ventures.
America needs Saudi oil. And the Saudis buy much of their military might from American defense contractors.
Trump arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday morning and was greeted by MBS, as the Saudi Crown prince is known.
The two men formed a close relationship during Trump’s first term.
Saudi already has a big investment in the United States, including more than $100 billion of Treasury bonds and $2 billion in an investment fund managed by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
Sovereign or royal funds from Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar have committed more than $3.5 billion to Kushner’s fund.
Kushner did not join Trump on the trip.
Trump’s family is also heavily invested in the Middle East. The Trump-owned company is managed by his children, Eric and Don Jr.
Over the past year, Trump-branded residential towers have launched in Dubai and Jeddah. And a developer in April unveiled a Trump luxury golf resort at a state-owned project in Qatar.
Trump will visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates later in the week.