Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, Twitter and Tesla, was the guest of the VivaTech show in Paris on Friday June 16. In front of 3,600 fans and for two hours, at the Dôme de Paris, the controversial billionaire stuck to his image as an unapologetic visionary, distilling his advice for success to fascinated start-up leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Despite a meeting with Emmanuel Macron at midday, he did not say a word about the possible installation of a Tesla factory in France. He had however promised in May, at the Choose France show, that the electric car manufacturer would “significant investments” in the country. ” Let’s work together “nevertheless tweeted the French president after their meeting.
Elon Musk’s only announcement at this conference: he said he wanted to provide, from 2023, a human being with neural implants from his company Neuralink, which has just obtained authorization to carry out tests in the United States. “Later this year, we will do our first human chip implant, for someone who has a form of quadriplegia”, he launched. The purpose of these brain chips is to make brains and computers communicate directly, to help people who are paralyzed or suffering from neurological diseases.
During his show, in front of an overheated room, he also defended a Twitter free of all censorship and considered that artificial intelligence risked triggering a “apocalypse” for Humanity. Positions that this libertarian has already repeated many times. “If we’re hit by an AI-triggered apocalypse, I think I’d still like to be alive then”he smiled.
“I am not the devil”
However, he did not give up on the merits. To the boss of Orange, Christel Heydemann, who challenged him on the reasons why Twitter had just left the European Union’s code of good conduct on disinformation, Elon Musk replied: if “someone who says something you don’t like” is blocked, “It’s only a matter of time for censorship to turn against you”.
Hiding behind his conception of freedom of expression, he nevertheless ended up admitting that “if you are harassed [sur le réseau social]it’s a bad experience”. In passing, he admitted to having paid too much for Twitter – 44 billion dollars. “If I’m so smart, why did I pay so much for it? »he quipped. “I am not the devil”he also launched with a sardonic laugh to Maurice Lévy, co-founder of VivaTech, who hosted this conference.
Previously, he had lunch with the boss of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, with whom he disputes the head of the annual ranking of the biggest fortunes in the world of the magazine Forbes. Elon Musk’s show in France is not over: he gave an interview to France 2, which will be broadcast Monday evening after the 8 p.m. television news.
Earlier, Mr. Musk had met Thursday in Rome with the head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni. They then mentioned some “crucial issues” like the “risks of AI” and the “natality”, she tweeted. The American boss, with extreme political positions, has become the darling of conservatives across the Atlantic for his fight against censorship and for having restored the account of ex-President Donald Trump.