'Libertad!': Argentina's Milei Meets with Musk, Who Agrees to Hold an Event in the South American Country

Argentine President Javier Milei met with billionaire Elon Musk on Friday at his Tesla Gigafactory in Texas as part of the former's trip through the U.S., where he was also named "ambassador of light" by the Chabad orthodox Jewish community.

Milei and Musk have expressed similar ideological stances, both in the economic and cultural spheres. "To an exciting & inspiring future!" published Musk in his X account (formerly Twitter) following the encounter.

He also republished Milei's picture of the meeting with the caption "Libertad!" (Freedom!), a reference to the president's frequently used catchphrase "Viva la libertad carajo" (which can be roughly translated to long live freedom, expletive).

"It was love at first sight," said future Argentine ambassador to the U.S. Gerardo Werthein to local press about the meeting.

He added that Musk wants to help the country and both talked about "looking for opportunities" in the lithium sector, considering Tesla's large needs to make batteries for its electric vehicles. Argentina has one of the three largest lithium reserves in the world.

"We agreed to work in this area and see what opportunities may arise in the lithium are and for lithium processing, whether it's for batteries or somewhere along the chain of value," Werthein added.

There were no concrete investment announcements following the meeting, but Musk said he was interested in visiting Argentina to take part in an eventual congress focused on technology and economic growth.