Accompanying U.S. President Donald Trump on his Middle East tour, Tesla CEO Elon Musk received a gift in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Starlink, the satellite internet division of Musk’s private space company SpaceX, secured access to the Saudi market.
According to CNBC, Musk revealed that Saudi Arabia has approved the use of Starlink for aviation and maritime purposes.
Musk disclosed this information during the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum (SUIF) held in Riyadh, coinciding with Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia.
As the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) responsible for restructuring the Trump administration, Musk now faces scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest and using his influence to gain benefits in Saudi Arabia.
During the event, Musk also presented several other business plans, including promising to introduce Tesla’s autonomous taxi, the Cybercab, in Saudi Arabia. Yet, he did not specify a timeline for its implementation.
Expressing his enthusiasm, Musk stated that it would be exciting to see autonomous vehicles driving around this kingdom.
He also mentioned showcasing several Optimus humanoid robots currently under development by Tesla to Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Musk also has investment ties with Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Kingdom Holding Company and the personal investment firm of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal hold stakes in Musk’s AI startup, xAI, which has recently integrated with Musk’s social media platform, X.
Earlier in 2022, Democratic Senators had reportedly raised concerns and demanded an investigation into Saudi Arabia’s role in funding Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, which has since been renamed X.
