Italian PM Calls The Issue Of Discussing SpaceX Elon Musk When Meeting Trump A Joke

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and US President elected Donald Trump/PHOTO via Instagram @giorgiameloni

JAKARTA - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stressed that he did not discuss Elon Musk's SpaceX issue of supplying Starlink services to Italy on his weekend visit to the United States.

"The prime minister's office firmly denies and considers it ridiculous that SpaceX became a topic in a meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump," Meloni's office said in a note reported by Reuters on Monday, January 6.

Meloni made a surprise trip to Florida on Saturday last week to meet Trump at his residence in Mar-a-Lago before his inauguration on January 20.

Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, January 5, Italian discussions with SpaceX, "which has stalled to date, seem to be making progress" after Meloni's meeting with Trump.

The PM's Office denies any agreement reached regarding the provision of new services.

"Connecting SpaceX is part of routine discussions conducted by foreign departments with companies, in this case companies that provide protected connections such as data encryption," he said.

Meloni has developed a strong relationship with tech billionaire Musk, Trump's close ally.

Musk's aerospace business, SpaceX, owns Starlink, a telecommunications provider that relies on Earth's low-orbit satellite network.

Starlink has been offering its services in Italy since 2021, but its business in the third-largest economy in the euro zone is simple, with a customer base of around 50,000.

Italy is considering using Starlink services to increase Internet penetration in remote areas in response to the slow progress in the government-funded fiber launch program.

In October 2024, Italy's foreign ministry said its country was evaluating the use of the Starlink system to improve communications for Italian diplomats and defense officials operating in risk areas in the Mediterranean.

Starlink has about 60 percent of the approximately 7,500 satellites orbiting the earth and is the dominant player, particularly for low-orbit satellites.

Sources told Reuters in December 2024, Italy plans to start testing earlier this month to see if Starlink is a viable solution to accelerate the rollout of high-speed internet.