Elon Musk lands in Europe with plans to charge up Tesla business

Billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk Friday met with European political leaders to discuss investment opportunities for Tesla in Europe, as the region is exploring ways to shift from fossil fuels to other energy sources, reported AFP Friday.

Musk, who is also CEO of SpaceX and Twitter, already met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron. 

According to reports, he is considering investing in France. He arrived at the Presidential Palace in Paris in a Tesla, and will later appear at France's biggest technology trade fair VivaTech.

The French Technology Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, has fuelled speculation that a Tesla factory could be built in France, but reports from Spain indicate Tesla is planning to build a factory there. 

Tesla's European footprint is relatively small, with its first manufacturing plant opening in Germany last year. The company has been expanding rapidly, however, and is now looking to invest in new manufacturing facilities in Europe to meet growing demand for its electric vehicles.

Elon Musk's meetings came when many countries are attempting to make a transition form from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy. 

And as the efforts intensified, Tesla has been at the forefront, with its sales and market share spiking rapidly in recent years. 

The company's electric cars are seen as a key part of the transition to a more sustainable energy system, and countries in Europe are keen to attract investment from the electric car maker to help accelerate this process. 

With Musk's reputation as a maverick entrepreneur and innovator, there is a great deal of excitement and anticipation around his visit to the continent. 

Many are hoping that it will lead to new investment and growth opportunities for the continent.

French President Emmanuel Macron discussed Wednesday his plans for his meeting with 51-year-old CEO during a walk around the aisles of VivaTech. 

Macron said that he "intends to talk to Musk about artificial intelligence, social networks, regulatory frameworks, cars, batteries, and the sector, to promote France and Europe's attractiveness."

Despite Musk's business empire, which includes his brain implant firm Neuralink, last year he acquired Twitter for $44 billion and became the boss. He fired numerous people due to cost cutting efforts and carried out controversial attempts that irked the users. One of which is removing blue checkmark.