Brazil’s first lady swore in billionaire Elon Musk at an event before the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
While advocating for stricter social media management at a conference on misinformation, Janja Lula da Silva appeared startled by a loud noise and joked: “I thought it was Elon Musk.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” she continued, cursing the billionaire, who owns Tesla and social media platform X.
Musk, who has been chosen to head the Government Effectiveness Board in the incoming administration of US President Donald Trump, has a complicated relationship with Brazil and its left-wing government. X was briefly banned there this year.
He reposted a video of the incident with the caption “haha”.
In another post, Musk added two laughing emojis and wrote: “They will lose the next election,” seemingly referring to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party.
Earlier this year, Brazil’s Supreme Court banned X nationwide after the company failed to name a legal representative in the country and suspended accounts accused of spreading false information. the 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 former Brazilian far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of discrediting the electoral system after losing in 2022. An eight-year ban prevents him from running for officehe has announced his intention to run again in the next election, to be held in 2026.
“Now we have another diplomatic problem,” said Bolsonaro, who retweeted a screenshot of the video and Musk’s response.
Leaders of the G20 nations will meet at the summit, which begins on Monday.
