A deal that would see Elon Musk’s SpaceX take over secure communications for the Italian government is reportedly back on track and nearing final approval after Italy’s prime minister met with Donald Trump this weekend.
Bloomberg reports that the burgeoning agreement “appeared to move forward” after right-wing prime minister Giorgia Meloni met with Donald Trump on Saturday at Mar-a-Lago, where the incoming president continues to hold court ahead of his inauguration.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Elon Musk was in attendance for the meeting, but the SpaceX CEO has been like a shadow to the president-elect since November.
The agreement is still not final, but could see Musk win a lucrative contract with a foreign government with the aid of his new political ally just a few months after Musk bankrolled a multi-state effort to defeat Kamala Harris and other Democratic candidates. Musk is also set to have Trump’s ear in the White House thanks to his position running the Department of Government Efficiency, which is likely to be an advisory council supposedly focused on cost-cutting in the federal government.
In reality, it means that Musk and his associated companies will likely continue to have near-limitless access to the president of the United States and the network of foreign and domestic contacts resulting from the second merger of the presidency and Trumpworld. In September, he tweeted his approval of new changes to the Italian telecommunications sector — long controlled by the Italian government — which a blogger wrote was “paving the way for Starlink as an Italian backup system.”
Some Italian officials say the potential agreement would adversely affect domestic carriers, though the plan has already been approved by several government agencies, including Italy’s intelligence service.
The deal is valued at $1.6bn and would provide a wide range of cell and internet services for the Italian civilian government and military, including a direct-to-cell service allowing for coverage in emergencies if traditional cell services are unavailable.
It comes as Musk is heavily expanding SpaceX’s Starlink telecom services around the globe, something which is very likely to continue with him at the side of the US president.
Musk has remained in the president-elect’s good graces even as the broader MAGA movement has erupted into a brawl over the issue of immigration and H-1B visas, which allow US companies to recruit tech and other high-skill workers from abroad. Immigration hardliners are against the program, while Musk and the tech billionaires who backed Trump in 2024 strongly support it.
His latest ruffling of feathers occurred on Sunday, as he picked a fight with another ally of the incoming president: Nigel Farage, leader of the UK’s Reform Party.
“The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes,” Musk tweeted on Sunday.
