Elon Musk joins Trump on Saudi trip as both men look to Middle East for business investments

Elon Musk may be winding down his time in Washington D.C. but he’s staying close to Donald Trump’s side, including joining the president on his Middle East trip.

Musk and several of the biggest names in American businesses attended a Saudi-U.S. investment forum in Riyadh on Tuesday, joining Trump and the Saudi crown prince for a lavish luncheon.

The Tesla founder traveled to Saudi Arabia independently of Air Force One. He is, however, listed as one of the speaker’s at Trump’s forum. Trump introduced Musk to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

A crowd of the who’s who on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley also is there, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altma, Musk’s brother Kimbal, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman, Amazon’s Andy Jassy, Google’s Ruth Porat, and Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg.

Trump introduced them one-by-one as part of a formal greeting with the crown prince. 

The showcase of America’s business titans comes as Trump is pushing Saudi Arabia to invest big in America.

CEOs of Blackrock, Citigroup, IBM, Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, American Airlines, and United Airlines were also on the guest list. 

President Donald Trump introduces Elon Musk to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud

But the gathering also shows the close ties already in place between Wall Street and Saudi’s oil wealth.

Trump’s family and Musk himself also have a cross-section of interests in the region.

Musk launched his Tesla dealership in the kingdom in April. Relations between him and the Saudi royal family have improved since Musk took a high-profile role in the Trump administration.

And state-backed funds from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were major investors in a $6 billion fundraising round for Musk, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Additionally, a UAE ministry announced in March a multiyear partnership with Musk’s brother Kimball for his drone light show company. Kimball Musk will also be at Tuesday’s lunch.

Musk announced earlier this month he will spend more time on his business interests and less time with his work at the Department of Government Efficiency. 

But his close relationship with Trump continues. He’ll be in the room when the president announces blockbuster economic investments from the Saudis.

Elon Musk with the Saudi Crown Prince

President Donald Trump is welcomed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud upon his arrival in Riyadh

Musk’s brother Kimbal will also be at a luncheon in Saudi for investors

President Donald Trump (second left) meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (second right); Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) joined them

Trump wants $1 trillion in Saudi investments. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will reportedly offer $600 billion.

The president is likely to push for more.

‘We’ve been very good to them,’ he said Monday.

Washington and Riyadh are heavily invested in one another, primarily driven by oil trade and security cooperation. Many American and Saudi companies have joint ventures. 

America needs Saudi oil and the Saudis buy much of their military might from American defense contractors. 

Trump arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday morning and was greeted by MBS, as the Saudi Crown prince is known.

The two men formed a close relationship during Trump’s first term. 

Saudi already has a big investment in the United States, including more than $100 billion of Treasury bonds and $2 billion in an investment fund managed by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

Sovereign or royal funds from Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar have committed more than $3.5 billion to Kushner’s fund.

Kushner did not join Trump on the trip. 

Trump’s family is also heavily invested in the Middle East. The Trump-owned company is managed by his children, Eric and Don Jr.

Over the past year, Trump-branded residential towers have launched in Dubai and Jeddah. And a developer in April unveiled a Trump luxury golf resort at a state-owned project in Qatar.

Trump will visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates later in the week.