Billionaire Elon Musk and Argentine President Javier Millay pledged to work together to promote the free market as well as potential lithium projects. The two met in Texas, where Musk's company for electric cars “Tesla” is located, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The president of Argentina is on a visit to the US, which is the third in a row in the four months since he took this post. Millay decided to reorient Argentine foreign policy in the direction of strengthening the strategic alliance with the United States.
The chief spokesman of the Argentine president announced that Javier Millay and Elon Musk visited the headquarters of “Tesla” in Austin and have discussed a variety of topics, from the need to spur global birthrate reductions to pursuing technological advancements while protecting "freedom".
Musk, who is one of the world's richest men, has previously shown his admiration for the Argentine president's stance on private initiative and his distaste for what he sees as socialist excesses, Reuters noted.
In front of local media, Argentina's future ambassador to the US, Gerardo Vertain, noted that Musk and Miley also discussed lithium – the ultra-light metal that is key to electric car batteries.
"We talked about investment opportunities in Argentina in the field of lithium... We are very involved not only in exporting raw materials, but also in adding value," said Verteyn, quoted by “Nacion”. "(Musk) said he wanted to help Argentina," added the ambassador-to-be.
With its vast mineral reserves, Argentina has a lot to offer Musk, a dominant player in the auto industry who calls lithium the "new oil". Millay's policy has raised hopes in the US that raw materials such as lithium could be mined in Argentina, breaking China's dominance of the battery supply chain. Earlier this year, the Biden administration said it was exploring investment opportunities in Argentine lithium.