Throughout recent US trips, including state visits at the White House’s invitation, a parade of foreign leaders have met with Elon Musk.

In just the past two days, the world’s richest man has met with the leaders of France, Italy, India, South Korea, and Turkey.

Despite the billionaire’s increasing popularity, the Biden administration has no love for the mercurial billionaire.

A growing number of people are concerned about Mr Musk’s power and access as his political reach expands, including into sensitive geopolitical issues. Tesla’s new factory or SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet services would boost the economy and electric vehicle industry for some foreign leaders.

Artificial intelligence and X, Musk’s platform formerly known as Twitter, have also been discussed.

Since December, Macron has courted the tech mogul three times in an effort to secure a new Tesla gigafactory in his country. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a similar appeal in New York on Sunday.

On Monday, Israeli PM Netanyahu flew to California to discuss artificial intelligence with Mr Musk, even though he’d just been to New York for this week’s United Nations General Assembly.

The latter discussion took place against the backdrop of Mr Musk’s simmering dispute with the Anti-Defamation League.