In a surprising turn of events, Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, made an unexpected appearance at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday. Musk, who has been a vocal critic of the annual gathering of political and business elites, joined BlackRock CEO Larry Fink on a panel and addressed the audience.
Musk’s appearance marked his first visit to Davos as the world’s wealthiest individual. During the panel discussion, he discussed his plans for Tesla’s self-driving technology in Europe, expressing optimism that the company will receive approval for the technology by next month.
The Tesla CEO also took a swipe at President Donald Trump’s recent aggression toward Venezuela and Greenland, joking about the formation of the “Board of Peace.” Musk quipped, “I heard about the formation of the peace summit, and I was like, is that p-i-e-c? You know, a little piece of Greenland, a little piece of Venezuela.”
Musk’s appearance at Davos comes as he continues to play a significant role in several global debates, including SpaceX’s provision of satellite internet to conflict zones and the public criticism over sexualized images generated by Grok, a chatbot developed by his AI startup xAI.
In the past, Musk has been one of the WEF’s most prominent critics, regularly criticizing the annual Davos gathering as elitist, unaccountable, and disconnected from ordinary people. He has repeatedly mocked Davos on his social media platform X, calling it “boring” and describing the WEF as “an unelected world government that the people never asked for and don’t want.”
Despite his past criticism, Musk’s status as a Trump ally has elevated his political clout, giving him an unusual degree of influence over policy discussions spanning technology, defense, and global communication. Several of Musk’s companies, including SpaceX and X, the social media platform he controls, are of direct interest to governments.
The Tesla CEO’s surprise appearance at Davos and his candid remarks have once again thrust him into the spotlight, highlighting his ongoing role in shaping global debates and his complex relationship with the political and business elite.
