A picture of billionaire Elon Musk with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at a recent event has gone viral, triggering social media reactions that the two were "dating".

At an award ceremony in New York on Tuesday, Musk also praised Meloni, calling her "authentic, honest and truthful".

Musk, while bestowing the Atlantic Council Global Citizen Award on Meloni, said it was an honour to present the accolade to "someone who is even more beautiful on the inside than she was on the outside."

"Giorgia Meloni is someone I admire, who has done an incredible job as the Prime Minister of Italy," he said.

"She's also someone who is authentic, honest, truthful - and that can't always be said about politicians," Musk added.

She also took to her official X account and thanked Musk for his remarks.

Grazie Elon pic.twitter.com/NgHchWLUtB

? Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) September 24, 2024

A Tesla fan club then posted a picture of Musk and Meloni and wrote, "Do you think they'll date?." The 53-year-old billionaire responded saying that they are "not dating".

We are not dating

? Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 24, 2024

Meloni received the award "for her strong support of the EU and becoming the first female prime minister of Italy," according to a media package distributed by the Atlantic Council.

She was in New York with leaders from more than 190 other nations for the annual high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.