Musk Under Fire: Why Italy’s President Took Tesla Boss to Task

Rome: Italian President Sergio Mattarella criticized Elon Musk on Wednesday for commenting on Italian court decisions that have impede government’s efforts to process some asylum seekers in Albania.

Musk, who is set to play a key visory role in Donald Trump ’s new ministration, posted on X Tuesday, stating, "se judges need to go." He was commenting on recent Italian court ruling that opposed right-wing Premier Giorgia Meloni’s immigration deal with Albania.

“This is unacceptable. Do people of Italy live in a democracy or does an unelected autocracy make decisions?”, Musk wrote in his next post on X.

Musk's tweets dressed a Rome court’s decision to reject a formal request to detain seven migrants rescued at sea and sent to Albania for processing.

Monday’s ruling, which led to men being brought to Italy for processing, marked second judicial setback for Meloni’s plan to outsource processing of some male asylum-seekers to Albania.

Mattarella didn’t mention Musk by name but, in an unusually sharp statement, me it clear on Wednesday that he was dressing him. Italy's president called for respect for Italy’s sovereignty, particularly from upcoming public officials.

“Italy is a great democratic country and … knows how to take care of itself while respecting its Constitution,” Mattarella said in a statement issued by his spokesperson.

“Anyone, particularly if as announced is about to assume an important role of government in a friendly and allied country, must respect its sovereignty and cannot attribute to himself task of imparting prescriptions,” spokesperson said.

Trump announced on Tuesday that Musk will be one of his key influencers, would le a new Department of Government Efficiency, an independent visory panel aimed at eliminating waste and fraud.

Musk, a supporter of Meloni, has met with her in Rome several times and joined her at an awards ceremony during U.N. General Assembly in September. ir photos toger sparked media attention, prompting Musk to tweet, "We are not dating," to quell speculation.

court rulings have angered Meloni’s far-right-led government, which has been seeking ways to alleviate strain of migrant arrivals in Italy. government h positioned opening of Albanian processing centers as a key part of its immigration crackdown, aiming to use m as both a deterrent and a potential model for Europe.

Ruling

In both cases, Italian courts referred matter to EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg to determine wher migrants' countries of origin are considered safe for repatriation. It is unclear when European court will issue a ruling.

As a result of Rome court decisions, no migrants have yet been processed at Albanian centers, which are set to cost Italy 670 million euros ($730 million) over five years to build and operate.

Italian opposition argues that money would be better spent on strengning Italian-operated migrant processing centers, while human rights groups claim outsourcing asylum processing violates international law.

centers, which opened in October after a delay due to soil issues at one location, are operated by Italy and fall under Italian jurisdiction, with Albanian guards providing external security.

(with agency input)