President Marcos misses meeting with Elon Musk

LOS ANGELES, California – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. missed his scheduled meeting with Tesla CEO Elon Musk on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in San Francisco.

In a roundtable interview with the reporters here on Friday (US Time), Marcos said they were supposed to discuss potential partnerships between Tesla and the Philippines, particularly in the areas of battery technology and electric vehicle manufacturing.

Marcos said that Musk was supposed to travel to San Francisco for a series of meetings, but he fell ill and could not make it.

The President expressed disappointment over the missed opportunity, saying that he was looking forward to discussing with Musk how Tesla could help the Philippines develop its electric vehicle industry.

"It didn't happen, which is a missed opportunity. I was really looking forward to it. But we'll find ways again," Marcos added.

"We have much to discuss with him regarding the technologies that we would like for Tesla, for example, to bring to the Philippines, specifically battery technology, even the manufacture of fully electric vehicles. All of these things that we are hoping to be a part of in the future," he added.

Marcos said that he and his team will be looking for another opportunity to meet with Musk in the future.

The Chief Executive also missed a scheduled meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau due to a scheduling conflict. The President said that he and Trudeau will try to reschedule the meeting at a later date.

Marcos on meeting with Peru President

In the meantime, the President said that he was able to meet with the President of Peru, Dina Boluarte, to discuss Peru's upcoming hosting of the APEC summit in 2024.

Marcos said that he and Boluarte discussed the agenda for the summit and exchanged ideas on how to make the event a success. The President said that he is confident that Peru will do a great job of hosting the summit.

"My bilateral meeting today was with Peru," Marcos said. "The President of Peru – she was able to find time for us to have a quick chat. But that was… It was certainly important because Peru is the next chairman and host of APEC 2024. So, we discussed what should be talked about during their APEC, if we have any suggestions."

Marcos said that he had met Boluarte before when she was Vice President of Peru. He said that they had a good conversation and that he is looking forward to working with her in the future.