Tesla, former Microsoft executives to attend NGA meeting in R.I.

PROVIDENCE – Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, and former Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer are among the business and political leaders expected to attend the National Governors Association summer meeting in Rhode Island.

Gov. Gina M. Raimondo will host the event, to be held July 13-15 at several locations in Providence and Newport. It is expected to draw 30 governors, including Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, the chairman of the association, and Gov. Brian Sandoval of Nevada, the vice-chairman.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, a former Georgia governor, also has announced his attendance.

Issues such as trade expansion, innovation, leadership development, workforce needs, and shared healthcare concerns, including the opioid epidemic, are on the agenda.

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On Saturday, July 15, Ballmer will be interviewed in a session at the Rhode Island Convention Center by Ina Fried, chief technology correspondent for Axios, a recently launched news website that covers tech, politics, media and business. Ballmer led Microsoft as CEO from 2000 to 2014.

Musk, who is also chairman of SolarCity, will speak in an event on the closing day, addressing innovation.

Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Email her at macdonald@pbn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MaryF_MacDonald.