Brazil’s first lady swore in billionaire Elon Musk at a ceremony ahead of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
At a panel about disinformation advocating for stricter social media regulation, Jinja Lola da Silva got a loud shock, joking, “I think it’s Elon Musk.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” she said, then swore at the billionaire, who owns Tesla and social media platform X.
Musk, who was tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency in incoming US President Donald Trump’s administration, has a complicated relationship with Brazil and its leftist government. X was briefly banned that year.
He reposted a video of the incident, with the caption “lol”.
In another post, Musk added two laughing emojis and wrote: “They’re going to lose the next election”, apparently referring to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party.
Earlier this year, Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered a nationwide ban on X, after it failed to name a legal representative in the country and suspended accounts for allegedly spreading false information. gave The ban was lifted after the platform paid a $5.1m (£3.8m) fine. More than a month later.
But Musk is also an ally of Brazil’s former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who was found guilty of defaming the electoral system after losing in 2022. An eight-year ban prevented him from contesting elections.he has announced his intention to run again in the next elections in 2026.
“Now we have another diplomatic problem,” said Bolsonaro, who reposted a screenshot of the video and Musk’s response.
Leaders of the G20 countries will meet for a summit starting Monday.
