<p>An off-the-cuff tweet by Elon Musk has left Bulgarians over the moon, hoping the world's richest man may be planning to visit the EU's poorest region.</p>.<p>The Tesla, SpaceX and now Twitter boss -- who is not immune to bouts of online whimsy -- recently commented on an image of the towering Belogradchik Rocks in northwestern Bulgaria under menacing clouds.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/musk-converts-several-rooms-at-twitter-hq-into-bedrooms-for-employees-1168940.html" target="_blank">Musk converts several rooms at Twitter HQ into bedrooms for employees</a></strong></p>.<p>"Pretty sure that was in Elden Ring," Musk tweeted, referring to one of his favourite video games.</p>.<p>Bulgarians were quick to educate him.</p>.<p>"Dear Elon, this is from Bulgaria! I invite you to see this place," Tourism Minister Ilin Dimitrov responded.</p>.<p>Hundreds of other Twitter users did likewise, delighted by the attention for a country rarely in the spotlight of the rich and famous.</p>.<p>An official invite was promptly dispatched, accompanied by a silver rhyton drinking horn, a symbol of the ancient Thracian civilisation that Bulgaria prides itself on.</p>.<p>The plot thickened when the chef of a high-end restaurant about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Belogradchik published an email purportedly from SpaceX hinting at a visit by Musk in April 2023.</p>.<p>The whole episode ignited a social media buzz, with memes aplenty showing the billionaire drinking the local rakia alcohol or dressed in traditional Bulgarian attire.</p>.<p>Not everyone was star-struck. "He will come and buy our land," one woman worried.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/musk-s-neuralink-faces-federal-probe-employee-backlash-over-animal-tests-1168897.html" target="_blank">Musk’s Neuralink faces federal probe, employee backlash over animal tests</a></strong></p>.<p>But the online frenzy has delighted Vladislav Terziiski, who took the picture of the spectacular Belogradchik rocks and its fortress some five years ago.</p>.<p>"It is so rare that good news from Bulgaria sparks such interest," he told <em>AFP</em>, welcoming "the wave of reactions, jokes, anecdotes and expressions of national pride."</p>.<p>As for a possible visit by the man himself?</p>.<p>"I am quite sceptical," Terziiski said. "But I keep some hope in my heart."</p>.<p>The Belogradchik fortress awaits its "messiah", political scientist Dimitar Ganev joked on Bulgarian television.</p>.<p>Almost obscured by the mist on a cold November day when <em>AFP </em>visited, the impressive rocks were indeed waiting... for tourists.</p>.<p>While visitors frequent the site in the warmer spring and summer months, the biggest group on that November day was a three-men camera crew filming for their own project.</p>.<p>Also, few of the 5,500 inhabitants of the little town at the foot of the fortress were getting that excited.</p>.<p>Like the rest of Bulgaria, whose population has been dropping since the end of communism, Belogradchik has lost half of its people since 1991.</p>.<p>Musk "does what he wants, why not come and visit a nice site and a poor region", said Svetoslav Zahariev, a construction worker in his 50s, who was "disappointed to find the same misery" on his return here after 16 years working abroad.</p>.<p>More than 40 per cent of the region's people live below the poverty line, making it the EU's poorest, according to Eurostat.</p>.<p>Local officials are pushing concrete government policies to help develop tourism, instead of empty declarations.</p>.<p>"You see how one picture has reached Musk. We can't do all this alone, we need a government policy (for tourist development of the region)," longtime mayor Boris Nikolov told AFP.</p>.<p>Tourism numbers increased sharply after the Belogradchik Rocks were named as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature poll by a Swiss foundation in 2007.</p>.<p>But people left "disappointed by the lack of infrastructure and accommodation", deputy mayor Rosen Mladenov lamented.</p>.<p>"What is this country that relies on a tweet from Musk to develop its tourism!" he fumed.</p>.<p>And even if the tech billionaire comes, he "would only be a three-day wonder, unless he invests here", Nikolov said.</p>.<p>So far Musk has remained uncharacteristically silent, ignoring numerous questions on Twitter from the Bulgarian media asking him to confirm or deny a visit.</p>.<p>Should Musk venture into this neglected corner of Bulgaria, he should not risk one of his Tesla cars on its rutted roads, a Sofia newspaper warned. Instead, it said, it was best he come in a rocket.</p>
<p>An off-the-cuff tweet by Elon Musk has left Bulgarians over the moon, hoping the world's richest man may be planning to visit the EU's poorest region.</p>.<p>The Tesla, SpaceX and now Twitter boss -- who is not immune to bouts of online whimsy -- recently commented on an image of the towering Belogradchik Rocks in northwestern Bulgaria under menacing clouds.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/musk-converts-several-rooms-at-twitter-hq-into-bedrooms-for-employees-1168940.html" target="_blank">Musk converts several rooms at Twitter HQ into bedrooms for employees</a></strong></p>.<p>"Pretty sure that was in Elden Ring," Musk tweeted, referring to one of his favourite video games.</p>.<p>Bulgarians were quick to educate him.</p>.<p>"Dear Elon, this is from Bulgaria! I invite you to see this place," Tourism Minister Ilin Dimitrov responded.</p>.<p>Hundreds of other Twitter users did likewise, delighted by the attention for a country rarely in the spotlight of the rich and famous.</p>.<p>An official invite was promptly dispatched, accompanied by a silver rhyton drinking horn, a symbol of the ancient Thracian civilisation that Bulgaria prides itself on.</p>.<p>The plot thickened when the chef of a high-end restaurant about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Belogradchik published an email purportedly from SpaceX hinting at a visit by Musk in April 2023.</p>.<p>The whole episode ignited a social media buzz, with memes aplenty showing the billionaire drinking the local rakia alcohol or dressed in traditional Bulgarian attire.</p>.<p>Not everyone was star-struck. "He will come and buy our land," one woman worried.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/musk-s-neuralink-faces-federal-probe-employee-backlash-over-animal-tests-1168897.html" target="_blank">Musk’s Neuralink faces federal probe, employee backlash over animal tests</a></strong></p>.<p>But the online frenzy has delighted Vladislav Terziiski, who took the picture of the spectacular Belogradchik rocks and its fortress some five years ago.</p>.<p>"It is so rare that good news from Bulgaria sparks such interest," he told <em>AFP</em>, welcoming "the wave of reactions, jokes, anecdotes and expressions of national pride."</p>.<p>As for a possible visit by the man himself?</p>.<p>"I am quite sceptical," Terziiski said. "But I keep some hope in my heart."</p>.<p>The Belogradchik fortress awaits its "messiah", political scientist Dimitar Ganev joked on Bulgarian television.</p>.<p>Almost obscured by the mist on a cold November day when <em>AFP </em>visited, the impressive rocks were indeed waiting... for tourists.</p>.<p>While visitors frequent the site in the warmer spring and summer months, the biggest group on that November day was a three-men camera crew filming for their own project.</p>.<p>Also, few of the 5,500 inhabitants of the little town at the foot of the fortress were getting that excited.</p>.<p>Like the rest of Bulgaria, whose population has been dropping since the end of communism, Belogradchik has lost half of its people since 1991.</p>.<p>Musk "does what he wants, why not come and visit a nice site and a poor region", said Svetoslav Zahariev, a construction worker in his 50s, who was "disappointed to find the same misery" on his return here after 16 years working abroad.</p>.<p>More than 40 per cent of the region's people live below the poverty line, making it the EU's poorest, according to Eurostat.</p>.<p>Local officials are pushing concrete government policies to help develop tourism, instead of empty declarations.</p>.<p>"You see how one picture has reached Musk. We can't do all this alone, we need a government policy (for tourist development of the region)," longtime mayor Boris Nikolov told AFP.</p>.<p>Tourism numbers increased sharply after the Belogradchik Rocks were named as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature poll by a Swiss foundation in 2007.</p>.<p>But people left "disappointed by the lack of infrastructure and accommodation", deputy mayor Rosen Mladenov lamented.</p>.<p>"What is this country that relies on a tweet from Musk to develop its tourism!" he fumed.</p>.<p>And even if the tech billionaire comes, he "would only be a three-day wonder, unless he invests here", Nikolov said.</p>.<p>So far Musk has remained uncharacteristically silent, ignoring numerous questions on Twitter from the Bulgarian media asking him to confirm or deny a visit.</p>.<p>Should Musk venture into this neglected corner of Bulgaria, he should not risk one of his Tesla cars on its rutted roads, a Sofia newspaper warned. Instead, it said, it was best he come in a rocket.</p>