Billionaire Elon Musk said on Monday he was considering “significant investments in France” as he visits the country for a summit aimed at attracting foreign business leaders.
The world’s second richest man, who is chief executive of electric car company Tesla, social media company Twitter and space exploration company SpaceX, made the comments after meeting French President Emmanuel Macron and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire.
“I’m very impressed by President Macron and the French government and how welcoming they are to industry,” the 51-year-old South African said.
“I believe that Tesla will make significant investments in France in the future.”
Le Maire said France would “continue discussions with the businessman” but declined to give any further details.
Macron and Musk met earlier at the Elysée Palace before traveling to Versailles for the latest meeting of French presidential candidates, as Macron seeks to attract investment in the country.
“We talked about the attractiveness of France and the important developments in electric vehicles and energy,” Macron later tweeted.
“We have a lot to do,” he added.
At the start of the meeting, Musk smiled and waved to reporters but made no comment.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told broadcaster BFMTV that “negotiations are ongoing” with the tycoon.
Le Maire did not disclose details of Monday’s meeting with Musk, saying simply that “all investments today are the result of months or even years of negotiations.”
Choose France
Macron said in another tweet that the summit will announce investments of approximately 13 billion euros, equivalent to the creation of approximately 8,000 jobs.
“When foreign investors choose France, it’s good for jobs and for our region,” he said.
About 200 foreign business bosses are expected to attend the summit, including Sunil Bharti Mittal of Indian conglomerate Bharti Entreprises, ArcelorMittal CEO Lakhsmi Mittal and Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark.
The meeting is being held at the Palace of Versailles, the former residence of the French monarchs, and a tight security perimeter has been established around it.
Macron remains the target of angry protests after signing controversial pension reform laws last month, leading to fresh accusations from the opposition that he is only a president for the rich.
Taiwanese battery manufacturer Huineng confirmed last week that it will invest more than 5 billion euros to build a new factory in northern France as its first European factory.
Among other projects, Swedish furniture giant IKEA announced that it will invest more than 900 million euros in France by 2026, including the establishment of a logistics center near Toulouse.
In the pharmaceutical field, Pfizer will inject an additional 500 million euros into France, and British company GlaxoSmithKline will inject nearly 400 million euros into France.
During a trip to the United States in December, Macron held an unannounced face-to-face meeting with Musk and later said the two had a “clear and honest” discussion during the hour-long meeting, including on electric vehicles and battery issues.
He has also expressed to Musk his and Europe’s concerns about content moderation on Twitter since Musk purchased the influential platform.
Macron confirmed that the two “also discussed digital regulation” at the Paris meeting.