unshaven Elon Musk jets in to meet Macron after a night of clubbing

A dishevelled Elon Musk joked that he had slept “in the car” before a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, hours after the billionaire was seen partying in Mexico.

Mr Musk met President Macron at the Elysee Palace on Monday as part of the French leader’s efforts to attract more investment to his country.

Mr Musk said he hoped Tesla would make a “significant investment” in France in future after the meeting, according to local reports.

The Tesla chief, who usually dresses in jeans and t-shirt, donned a suit for the 45-minute meeting with the French President but was unshaven. Mr Musk was caught on camera telling Mr Macron he had to “sleep in the car”.

The billionaire had been seen hours earlier clubbing in the luxury resort of Cabo San Lucas in Mexico as he attended a dance music festival.

Mr Musk was seen dancing and making heart gestures to the crowd during a performance by Australian dance group Rufus du Sol at the Sundream festival in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The 51-year-old, who flew into Cabo from Los Angeles, was also pictured at a trance music event hosted by Bosnian-German DJ Solomun in LA’s Exposition Park on Saturday night.

Flight records for Mr Musk’s $70m Gulfstream jet show he landed in Cabo on Saturday before leaving the following morning to fly to Paris, where he arrived on Monday morning.

Despite Mr Musk’s appearance, the meeting with Macron will be viewed as a coup for the President. The French leader has suffered a slump in popularity since forcing through plans to raise France’s retirement age. The policy has sparked months of protests and strikes.

Mr Macron is hoping Mr Musk’s visit can divert attention away from the controversy and towards his pro-business reform drive, which includes promoting greener initiatives such as electric vehicles.

In a tweet following the meeting, the French President said the pair had discussed the attractiveness of France, progress in the energy and electric vehicles sectors, and digital regulation.

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He added: “We have so much to do together.”

Mr Musk was also scheduled to attend a roundtable discussion about green industrialisation, as well as dinner with other chief executives.

French finance minister Bruno Le Maire was expected to pitch to Mr Musk on new tax credits for investments in green technology that were first announced last week.

Asked by BFM TV about possible investments by Mr Musk, Mr Le Maire said only “all investments that are being made today are the result of months or even years of negotiations”.

Tesla has not made any significant investments in France to date. Tesla’s only gigafactory in Europe is in Berlin, a location Mr Musk chose despite overtures from Paris.

Mr Musk, who is a noted dance music fan, hosted a rave to open the Berlin gigafactory in 2022.

The Cabo festival Mr Musk had attended before the Paris visit took place at the El Ganzo Sculpture Gardens and featured performances by prominent dance acts before a final day of “recovery and wellness” activities, including yoga and art installations.

Mr Musk, who is in an on-off relationship with Canadian singer Grimes, released his own dance track Don’t Doubt Ur Vibe in 2020.

Last year, the Tesla boss reportedly invited a host of billionaires and celebrities to a Halloween party at Bran Castle – commonly known as Dracula’s castle – in Romania.

President Macron courted a string of other global business executives alongside Mr Musk at the annual “Choose France” summit at the opulent Palace of Versailles on Monday.

Mr Macron started the event in 2018 to lure more international investment to France. Companies pledged to invest a combined €13bn at this year’s event, a record total.

Companies promising investment include Pfizer, Ikea and Morgan Stanley. The biggest pledge was a €5.2bn project in Dunkirk undertaken by a Taiwanese car battery maker, which President Macron unveiled last week.

For President Macron, the drive to attract billions of dollars in foreign investment could be key in defining his legacy. After two terms as president, the former investment banker is unable to stand again in 2027.

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