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

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.

Italy is reportedly close to sealing a €1.5 billion (£1.25 billion) deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX that would provide the country’s government with secure telecommunications.

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.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denies discussing a deal with Elon Musk to use Starlink for secure military communications. As Italy evaluates SpaceX's system against the delayed EU IRIS2 project,

Italy's far-right government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is close to a 1.5-billion-euro ($1.6-billion) deal with Elon Musk's SpaceX that could drive a wedge between the nation and Europe's technology sector.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni did not discuss the issue of Elon Musk's SpaceX supplying Italy with its Starlink services during her weekend visit to the United States, her office said in a statement on Monday.

Good morning. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is said to near a deal with Italy, as the billionaire makes waves in the UK. Justin Trudeau is reportedly expected to resign. And read our interview with the man behind ChatGPT.