Emmanuel Macron described Elon Musk as a 'heavily subsidized guy' by the US federal government in a speech in Antwerp, Belgium, to advocate for European public investments. The billionaire countered on X, claiming his European competitors receive more public funding. This exchange highlights debates on financing industrial innovation.
In front of European industrialists in Antwerp, Belgium, French President Emmanuel Macron pleaded on Wednesday for a 'European preference' and massive investments in future sectors, funded notably by joint EU borrowing.
He illustrated his point by citing Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and Tesla. 'Everyone is fascinated by Starlink, but if we're clear-eyed, Mr. Musk is probably one of the people in the world who has pocketed the most billions of dollars from American taxpayers,' Macron stated. He added: 'Elon Musk is above all a heavily subsidized guy' by the federal government for his Starlink satellite system.
Macron highlighted that the US combines private and public capital, especially in energy and space. 'Good news, it made him super innovative. And he became competitive thanks to this American approach,' he emphasized, urging Europe to follow suit to compete with the US and China.
Elon Musk responded quickly on his social network X. He claimed that 'the most subsidized are his competitors, especially in Europe.' According to him, 'if you add up all the public funding ever received by Tesla and SpaceX, it represents only about 1% of the cumulative value of these companies.' In contrast, for major American and European aerospace companies, 'the public money they have received exceeds 100% of their value,' he estimated.
This episode fits into a broader context of tensions over regulating tech giants and European competitiveness.
