What links Elon Musk to Giorgia Meloni?

The 15th edition of Atreju, titled Welcome back, Italian pride, has recently concluded, revealing a growing affinity between Elon Musk and Giorgia Meloni. The couple, which may seem unlikely to many, had already shown shared values since the Tesla CEO's first visit to Palazzo Chigi last June, lasting an hour and a half. However, the Brothers of Italy event, which welcomes prominent figures, both Italian and international, from both the right and the opposition every year, served to publicly acknowledge an ideological affinity that may have gone unnoticed until now. From the alarm on birth rates to the threat of AI, addressing sustainability and freedom of expression at all costs—discussions held in large tents among stands of artisanal panettone, mulled wine, and salami sandwiches—here's a summary of everything you may have missed of Musk in Rome, starting from the beginning.

What is Atreju

Atreju was born in 1998 as a satirical celebration of youth on the right, conceived by Azione Giovani, a nursery for the National Alliance party, and was organized for the first time by Giorgia Meloni, who was a leader at the time. The title is another reference to fantasy literature (the prime minister is, in fact, a known fan of Tolkien), specifically to Michael Ende's 1979 novel The NeverEnding Story which was adapted into a film in 1984 by Wolfgang Petersen. Atreju is the protagonist, a young person fighting against the "nothing" that advances. The title, strongly symbolic, echoes the conservative will of the Italian right and is more explicitly reflected in the names chosen for the event in various editions: Terra Nostra, It's Time for Patriots, Europe Against Europe, Challenge to the Stars, The Christmas of Conservatives. One of the most important guests in 2019 was the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, while this year, in addition to many representatives of the Italian government, notable names included British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, and Vox leader Santiago Abascal. It is a tradition for members or celebrities from opposing parties to participate as well: the participation of Giovanni Lindo Ferretti, frontman of the now-disbanded pro-Soviet band CCCP, in 2015 surprised many fans. In the current edition, Carlo Calenda and Matteo Renzi are opposition members who accepted the invitation, while Elly Schlein chose to decline.

Elon Musk's statements

Taking the stage with his eleventh child, born through surrogacy, Musk began the discussion with a topic dear to him: birth rates. «I wish prosperity for all countries. But if I wanted to open a company in this country, would there be enough people to work for it?» The statement echoes the entrepreneur's historic tweet on May 24, 2022, sounding the alarm: «Italy will not have inhabitants at this rate.» About a year later, in April 2023, commenting on Istat data, he reiterated: «Italy is disappearing.» Therefore, it's not surprising that, upon arriving in Italy, the entrepreneur wanted to start his interview with Nicola Porro on the topic of births. A pillar for the entire right, central to the debate after recent statements by Pope Francis («In Italy, puppies instead of children, depopulation worries me») and Giorgia Meloni's declaration that «surrogacy will soon become a universal crime, punishable in Italy and abroad», right after Musk's appearance with his son. Another prominent theme was immigration as a solution to the problem of depopulation. Musk explained that the decline in births following industrialization cannot be filled by immigrants, delivering a nationalist message: «Italy is the Italian people.» The entrepreneur, who for many was the epitome of a sustainable revolution under the banner of Tesla, has strongly aligned with the right even on environmental issues, stating that «the environmental movement has gone too far, starting to see humanity as a menace.»

The close relationship between Musk and the far right

Surrogacy aside, Elon Musk is an idol not only for American sovereigntist right-wingers but also for Italians. After all, there was no doubt about his political alignment, even though indications of such orientation have been definitely controversial and divisive. The latest concerns his endorsement of an antisemitic tweet, which cost him the suspension of some significant advertising agreements on X, by big names like IBM, Apple, and Disney. The White House has called the tweet a «repugnant promotion of antisemitism and racist hatred, contrary to our values.» A week ago, he also announced the reinstatement of Alex Jones's account, the Trumpian podcaster present at the Capitol riot and a conspiracy theorist. In Rome, Marco Venturini emphasizes how Musk's service to Meloni and Brothers of Italy has been invaluable: «he has relayed important messages typical of sovereigntist right, such as increasing births, defending the Italian ethnicity, stopping illegal immigration, the importance of fossil energy sources, anticommunism, and the hypocrisy of woke ideology. The premier could not have asked for more.»