Macron Criticizes Elon Musk's Heavy U.S. Subsidies, Calls for Increased European Public Investment

During a speech in Antwerp, Belgium, French President Emmanuel Macron took a critical stance against Elon Musk by highlighting that Musk is "above all a heavily subsidized guy," referencing the substantial public funds Musk has received from the U.S. federal government for projects like Starlink satellite communications. Macron emphasized that while the U.S. benefits from significant private investment, it also relies heavily on public funding in sectors such as energy and space, which has helped Musk’s companies thrive.

Macron argued that to remain competitive with the U.S. and China, Europe must adopt a similar model of massive public investments in strategic future sectors. He defended the importance of European public investment in industry, signaling that European companies need comparable support to innovate and sustain growth.

In response, Elon Musk took to his social media platform X to counter Macron’s claims, stating that his competitors, especially in Europe, receive more government subsidies than he does. Musk claimed that the total public funds received by his companies, Tesla and SpaceX, represent about 1% of their combined valuation, whereas leading aerospace companies in both the U.S. and Europe have been funded with subsidies exceeding their entire value.

This exchange sheds light on ongoing debates about the role of government funding in industrial innovation and competitiveness, with Macron calling for Europe to increase its investment efforts to match the U.S. model, while Musk stresses the extent of public subsidies already distributed within Europe.