G20: Elon Musk will not be present in Indonesia

Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, will not go to Indonesia to take part in a meeting of entrepreneurs organized on the sidelines of the G20 summit but will participate in a virtual meeting, an Indonesian minister said on Sunday.

Mr Musk, also the owner of carmaker Tesla, was due to speak at the so-called ‘B20’ economic conference on the Indonesian island of Bali. But next week the multi-billionaire is due in US court in a lawsuit over his 2018 compensation of around $56 billion in stock options.

The Indonesian ministry said that Mr. Musk, the richest man on the planet, will take part on Monday, on the eve of the opening of the G20, in an hour-long virtual exchange with Indonesian tycoon Anindya Bakrie on “the future disruptions to global technological innovation”. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are among the B20 attendees. Mr Pandjaitan said Mr Musk will travel to Jakarta in December “on completion of his legal proceedings”.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo traveled to Texas to meet with Musk earlier this year to discuss Tesla’s investment in the archipelago’s nickel industry. Indonesia has the largest nickel reserves in the world, and the pioneer of the electric car would be interested in them because they are used as components for batteries.

A shareholder challenged in a Delaware court Mr. Musk’s special compensation, which was at the time approved by shareholders. But the complainant accused the board of directors of having failed in its obligations.

The case will be studied by the same judge who, in October, adjourned the procedure between Twitter and Mr. Musk and given until October 28 to both parties for the Tesla boss to buy the social network.