Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denied Thursday talking to Elon Musk about a cybersecurity deal with the American billionaire's SpaceX company following reports that sparked controversy in Italy.

Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni said her government is in talks with private companies, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX, over the country’s telecoms security system, but denied having discussed the issue

Elon Musk said on Monday he was ready to provide Italy with secure communication services after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denied that the issue had come up during a weekend visit to the United States.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy is in preliminary talks with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to provide secure communications for the government.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has dismissed claims of striking a deal with Musk, with whom she has developed a cordial relationship.

Italy is in advanced talks with Elon Musk's SpaceX over a 1.5 billion euro ($1.55 billion) deal for the company to provide secure telecommunications to the government, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.

Italian opposition leaders roundly criticized Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government for engaging in talks with Elon Musk’s SpaceX on a €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) deal for encrypted communications systems.