Tesla's Elon Musk and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu Ride Together in the Cybertruck

The two discussed artificial intelligence, Twitter, social unrest in Israel, and the measures needed in a world where robots could take over and deep fakes confuse unsuspecting people. The meeting ended with a tour of the EV maker's factory and a ride in the much-hyped Cybertruck.

Elon Musk and Bibi Netanyahu discussed the challenges brought forward by the rapid development of artificial intelligence. They also touched on the subject of deep fakes and intricate image alterations that could lead to social problems and confusion, given how fast something can become viral nowadays.

"Technology is improving at a hyper-exponential rate, and we obviously want to make sure that technology is something that benefits humanity to the greatest extent possible," pointed out Musk.

The pair also debated freedom of speech and antisemitism. The latter is an important topic for Twitter (X) owner Elon Musk, who is in an open fight with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The organization accused him of enabling users to spread hatred on the platform. In turn, the social media mogul argued that ADL is at fault for Twitter not having any success. He said the organization pressured advertisers to leave.

The American business tycoon also asked the politician about the protests in Israel and requested clarification about what was happening in the Middle Eastern country.

At one point, the meeting took an uncomfortable turn when Tesla's CEO said that we must draw a clear limit to establish who is in charge - the human or the computer - as we move forward to more technologically advanced societies.

Netanyahu replied that the fast-tracked evolution of technology can be a blessing or a curse, but it's up to humans to make the right choice. He underlined that the pace of change has increased dramatically, mirroring what the Twitter owner uttered. Afterward, he added, "I know you can not be the President of the US, but assume you are." Elon Musk replied, "Not officially." The Israeli PM smiled and told his dialogue partner and the audience, "Then you're the unofficial President. What should we do?"

Netanyahu wanted to find out Elon Musk's ideas for a safe tech-ladden future. He pointed out that China's ahead of everyone, and the Asian country should be the first to take the right safeguarding measures.

But Tesla's boss also met with Turkey's President before seeing Israel's prime minister. The official invited the executive to consider building a Gigafactory in his country. The public offer came two months after the plans to open one in Spain did not materialize.

At the same time, a media report coming right after the meeting with Turkey's Erdogan stated that Saudi Arabia and Tesla started discussing the possibility of building a Gigafactory in the Arab country. However, Tesla's CEO took to Twitter to say that was untrue.

Netanyahu did not openly ask Elon Musk to consider Israel a possible location for Tesla's next manufacturing plant, but they rode together in a Cybertruck showing no imperfections. The pickup truck can be seen in the video below wearing Texas plates. Musk even gave it the beans on that track, putting the vehicle's capabilities on display. When returning from the short drive, he also showed the rear-wheel steering in action.

It looks like a very busy period for Elon Musk and Tesla. Even though the brand's existing factories aren't working at their maximum capacity, the brand might need an extra plant because manufacturing the Semi, the Cybertruck, the Optimus robot, and the upcoming two-seater robotaxi would take up too much space in existing facilities.