Macron and Musk, cross swords from afar

According to a report by Agence France-Presse on February 11, French President Macron, in a speech on the 10th, defended public investment in European industries, citing the support of the US government for Elon Musk's "Starlink" project as an example and bluntly stating that Musk "has been soaking up subsidies." These comments immediately provoked a response from the world's richest man. Macron, speaking at an industry summit in Antwerp, Belgium, advocated for a competitive strategy of "buying European goods" and supported raising funds through joint EU borrowing to carry out large-scale investments. He said, "Look at the United States, they have a large amount of private capital as well as huge public funds being invested. Everyone is fascinated by 'Starlink'... but as long as one remains clear-headed, one will realize that Musk is probably one of the people who receive the most subsidies from American taxpayers globally, holding billions of dollars in grants." Macron also stated, "Musk is basically someone who just keeps soaking up subsidies from US federal agencies." However, he also believes that this support model is "extremely innovative." Musk quickly responded to Macron's remarks on his social platform X, saying that the subsidies from European governments to their industries far exceed those in the United States. Musk said, "If you add up all the government funding received by Tesla and SpaceX, it only accounts for about 1% of the total market value of the two companies. On the other hand, major aerospace companies in the United States and Europe receive government funding that even exceeds their own market value!"