Could a thaw in relations between Trump and Musk be on the horizon? The Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, has been invited to a White House dinner hosted by President Donald Trump for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This marks a significant development, especially considering the recent history of tensions between the two. Musk, alongside golfer Tiger Woods, received the invite for the East Room dinner, but it remains uncertain if he has accepted. The dinner follows a bilateral meeting between Trump and MBS, and the US-Saudi Arabia investment forum at the John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. The forum is expected to attract top executives from major companies like Chevron, Qualcomm, Cisco, General Dynamics, Pfizer, IBM, Alphabet's Google, Salesforce, Andreessen Horowitz, Halliburton, Adobe, Aramco, State Street, and Parsons Corp. However, Musk's attendance at a similar event in September was declined due to other commitments, despite initial rumors of a snub. The Trump-MBS meeting aims to strengthen decades-old cooperation in oil and security, with potential expansion into commerce, technology, and nuclear technology. Saudi Arabia is pushing for deals in nuclear energy and artificial intelligence, aligning with its Vision 2030 plan. The sale of Lockheed Martin's F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia is also on the agenda, which could be a significant concession given the US's efforts to pressure Saudi Arabia into normalizing relations with Israel. Trump's visit to the Kingdom in May resulted in a $600 billion investment pledge from Saudi Arabia.
