Giorgia Meloni Meets Donald Trump as SpaceX Nears $1.6B Deal with Italy

Published January 6, 2025 12:26 PM

By Giuseppe Ciccomascolo

Edited by Samantha Dunn

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni met with Donald Trump and Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago. | Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Key Takeaways

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s meeting with President-elect Donald Trump included discussions on tariffs and international collaboration.
Italy is rumored to be in the process of negotiating a $1.6 billion deal with SpaceX.
Critics question the decision to involve Musk and Starlink, fearing a foreign entity might gain access to sensitive data.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago, where they discussed tariffs and the potential expansion of Musk’s Starlink satellite service in Italy.

Reports suggest Italy is nearing a huge deal with SpaceX for secure communications, including encrypted government services and military connectivity. This has caused some protests in Italy.

Meloni Meets Trump in Florida

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida days before welcoming President Joe Biden to Rome.

During the visit, Meloni and Trump discussed a number of topics, including tariffs. In a post on X , Meloni described the evening as “pleasant,” expressing readiness for collaboration.

Elon Musk was present during the dinner. Meloni and Trump were reported to have talked about Starlink, which has its sights set on Italy.

Italian tech expert Marco Porro commented on the rumor, “Starlink will increasingly play a vital role in ensuring stable and fast internet connectivity, especially in critical situations.”

SpaceX Nears Huge Deal With Italy

Soon after the meeting, Bloomberg reported that Italy is in advanced talks with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for a $1.6 billion deal to provide secure telecommunications for its government. Sources revealed that this would mark the largest such project in Europe.

The discussions, ongoing since mid-2023, aim to supply top-level encryption for government phone and Internet services, military communications in the Mediterranean, and direct-to-cell satellite services for emergencies like natural disasters.

The project has already gained approval from Italy’s Intelligence Services and Defense Ministry but has faced opposition from officials worried about its impact on local carriers.

Meloni denied the report : “The Presidency denies categorically […] the news that the topic of SpaceX was discussed during the meeting with the President-elect of the U.S., Donald Trump.”

Starlink’s Italian Presence

SpaceX’s Starlink, with its network of over 7,000 satellites, already operates in Italy and has expanded globally to more than 4 million users across 100+ countries. Its innovative satellite services have disrupted legacy telecom markets and outpaced competitors like Amazon and China.

Italy had also considered alternatives, including the EU’s IRIS satellite project , but costs were estimated to exceed €10 billion.

Italy’s telecom industry, viewed as a strategic asset, has struggled with declining profits, leading to major restructurings such as Telecom Italia’s €22 billion sale of its landline network to KKR.

Starlink previously accused Telecom Italia of obstructing its high-speed Internet rollout, adding to tensions in one of the world’s most competitive markets.

However, some politicians and TLC experts in Italy have criticized Meloni’s intentions with Musk, sparking fears that a foreign company may gain access to the data of Italians connected to the internet.

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About the Author

Giuseppe Ciccomascolo

Giuseppe Ciccomascolo began his career as an investigative journalist in Italy, where he contributed to both local and national newspapers, focusing on various financial sectors. Upon relocating to London, he worked as an analyst for Fitch's CapitalStructure and later as a Senior Reporter for Alliance News. In 2017, Giuseppe transitioned to covering cryptocurrency-related news, producing documentaries and articles on Bitcoin and other emerging digital currencies. He also played a pivotal role in establishing the academy for a cryptocurrency exchange website. Crypto remained his primary area of interest throughout his tenure as a writer for ThirdFloor.

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Giorgia Meloni Meets Donald Trump as SpaceX Nears $1.6B Deal with Italy

Meloni Meets Trump in Florida

SpaceX Nears Huge Deal With Italy

Starlink’s Italian Presence

Giuseppe Ciccomascolo

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