Italy's Meloni congratulates her 'friend' Musk after US vote

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday congratulated Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who backed Donald Trump in his victorious campaign to return to the U.S. presidency.

The rightwing Italian prime minister and the world's richest man have repeatedly praised each other in public in recent months, so much so that Musk replied to a joke on X in September to say the two were not having an affair.

Meloni said in a post on X that she had spoken to her "friend" Musk in recent hours.

"I'm convinced that his commitment and vision can be an important resource for the United States and Italy as we work together to meet the challenges of the future," Meloni said.

Musk presented Meloni with an award from the Atlantic Council think tank in September, giving a speech in which he said Meloni was "someone who is even more beautiful inside than outside". She replied that he was a "precious genius".

They were later photographed gazing into each other's eyes at a banquet table, giving rise to online jokes and commentary in Italian media.

The tech businessman flew to Italy twice last year to meet Meloni in June and December.

On Wednesday Meloni congratulated Trump after his victory, saying it would strengthen ties between the two countries.

(Reporting by Sara Rossi; Editing by Giselda Vagnoni and Peter Graff)

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