Elon Musk Brings Starlink to Saudi Arabia as U.S. Oligarchs Join Trump in Middle East

Elon Musk says his outer net supplier Starlink, a portion of SpaceX, has been approved successful Saudi Arabia for maritime and aviation use. The billionaire made the announcement portion being interviewed astatine the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum successful Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, connected Tuesday, a league wherever respective American oligarchs person joined President Donald Trump to chopped deals with the Saudi royal family.

Musk “thanked the kingdom for approving Starlink,” referring to the Saudi government, without explaining further, and teased that he’d similar to bring his nascent robotaxis to Saudi Arabia.

“Yeah, truthful truly you tin deliberation of a car oregon aboriginal cars arsenic being robots connected 4 wheels. And you know, I deliberation it would beryllium precise breathtaking to person autonomous vehicles present successful the kingdom, indeed, if you’re amenable,” Musk said

“You heard it present from Elon,” the interviewer said. “He’s bringing his robotaxi to the kingdom.”

Musk didn’t connection immoderate specifics and is agelong known arsenic a bullshitter, truthful it’s not wide however superior the billionaire is astir bringing robotaxis to the Middle East. Tesla plans to motorboat a proceedings of its robotaxi work successful Austin, Texas, successful June, but details connected that task are inactive scarce.

Musk besides promoted his tunnel-digging venture, The Boring Company, portion connected stage, explaining that his extremity was to “solve traffic” by digging tunnels underground. The billionaire hyped The Boring Company relentlessly during Trump’s archetypal term but has lone delivered the astir pathetic results. Musk billed his ideas, similar the Hyperloop and The Loop, arsenic next-generation, high-speed answers for transportation. In the end, he’s lone delivered a slow-moving Tesla driven by a quality and hobbled nationalist works projects.

But that didn’t halt Musk from insisting that his lone functional passageway thrust successful Las Vegas, “feels similar teleporting for 1 portion of Vegas to another.” Most radical bash not picture the acquisition similar that.

Musk’s America PAC, 1 of the governmental arms the billionaire started to assistance get Trump elected successful 2024, shared a video connected X that was billed arsenic Musk’s “full remarks” but seemed to commencement mid-conversation. Judging from reports retired of the conference, it appears Musk had earlier been talking astir humanoid robots.

“My prediction, actually, for humanoid robots is that yet they volition beryllium tens of billions,” Musk said, according to CNBC. “I deliberation everyone volition privation to person their idiosyncratic robot. You tin deliberation of it, like, arsenic though you had your ain idiosyncratic C-3PO oregon R2-D2. But adjacent better.”

President Trump was expected to beryllium the main attraction astatine the forum connected Tuesday, and his beingness successful Saudi Arabia was highly weird, to accidental the least. Trump opened his code astatine the league with organizers playing Lee Greenwood’s opus “God Bless the USA,” arsenic though it was the nationalist anthem oregon something.

Trump stood determination successful silence for the entirety of the opus arsenic the country each stood successful silence. The camera periodically chopped to Saudi person Mohammad bin Salman, sometimes known arsenic MBS, and helium appeared to beryllium stifling laughter.

Trump, who earlier had occupation keeping his eyes open, mostly focused connected U.S. home authorities and his idiosyncratic grievances during the speech, which whitethorn not person been exceptional if helium had been connected American soil. Historically, it’s much mean for U.S. presidents to grow their absorption erstwhile traveling overseas and not bring up petty matters successful an planetary setting. These aren’t mean times, of course.

Several American concern leaders were spotted successful Riyadh connected Tuesday, including Palantir CEO Alex Karp, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang adjacent announced his institution would beryllium selling 18,000 of its latest AI chips to Saudi Arabia, according to CNBC. But not each tech oligarch was connected manus for the forum. In fact, Trump called retired Apple’s CEO saying during his code that, “Tim Cook isn’t here,” seemingly upset astir that for immoderate reason.

“This week determination are multi-billion dollar commercialized deals with Amazon, Oracle, AMD, they’re each here… Uber, Qualcomm, Johnson & Johnson, and galore more,” Trump said. “So I privation to congratulate everybody. So galore large concern executives, galore of you… astir of you, I know.”

Trump went connected to say “they weren’t that blessed erstwhile they saw me,” seemingly referring to his predetermination successful Nov. 2024, “and present they’re saying, sir, you’re doing a large job, convey you precise much. It’s astonishing what a rising marketplace volition do.”

And Trump isn’t altogether wrong. OpenAI’s Sam Altman, who criticized the president during his archetypal term, was spotted meeting with some MBS and Trump successful Saudi Arabia connected Tuesday. Altman has been rallying down Trump, arsenic AI boosters judge the Republican president tin assistance inject wealth into their technology.

Trump has held adjacent ties to MBS and the Saudi royal family, adjacent aft the person became an planetary pariah during Trump’s archetypal term. Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi was murdered astatine the bid of MBS successful Istanbul, Turkey, but Trump has ever cozied up to the astir brutal dictators astir the satellite portion denigrating the leaders of wide democracies.

President Trump said Tuesday that Saudi Arabia would beryllium buying $600 cardinal of subject equipment. And Trump’s tech buddies, from Musk to Altman, are blessed to spell on for the thrust arsenic agelong arsenic it helps their bottommost line.