Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, and owner of The Boring Company, Neuralink, and X, is using his vast wealth and influence to support Donald Trump in this election. It has moved sharply to the right in support of the next president. , take up the megaphone with X and influence the outcome of the election.
Musk's endorsement comes despite Trump's anti-EV stance and climate change skepticism, a pivot point from Musk and Trump's relationship years ago. . Musk served on two advisory committees during President Trump's first term, but resigned from both in protest of Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord.
Musk, who is worth more than $260 billion and has donated more than $100 million to pro-Trump super PACs, is now poised to become the president-elect's most influential political and business adviser. During an appearance at the New York Economic Club in September, President Trump promised Musk a position as the new head of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk nicknamed the yet-to-be-founded unit “DOGE,” after his favorite meme-joke cryptocurrency, whose market capitalization has increased over the past 24 years. It soared more than 6% in an hour.
The role could give the billionaire executive the power to recommend deep cuts to what he considers the “huge federal bureaucracy that is holding America back.”
In his victory speech, Trump called Musk a “super genius” and praised his biggest donor, adding, “We need to protect genius.” “A star is born, Elon,” President Trump said separately Tuesday night.
Many predict a falling out between the two bigwigs before President Trump's four-year term ends, even if parts of Musk's DOGE plan become a reality. Even so, it could be one of the most serious cases for businessmen. He helped shape the policies and regulations governing his business.
What do we think Trump's victory means for Musk and his companies?
Reduce government spending using the Tesla method
Trump, despite several bankruptcies, gained power primarily by promoting himself as a great businessman, while Musk can at least claim to have succeeded through his own efforts (also known as X regardless of). According to former Tesla president John McNeil, it's a formula that centers innovation through subtraction and radical simplification of problems.
This includes considering all requirements, removing every possible step in a process before rebuilding it, automating workflows, and more. If Musk is appointed to his promised role, he is expected to take a similar approach to government spending, but the role will include “conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and The committee will be tasked with making recommendations for reform. Comments made by President Trump in September.
On Tuesday night, Musk flew from Texas on a private jet to watch the election results with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, where he live-streamed a question-and-answer session and said he would bloat all government agencies.
“When multiple agencies have really overlapping portfolios, there's a lot of overlapping responsibilities,” Musk said. “We have a lot of people working in government, so we just need to move them to more productive roles in the private sector.”
Musk noted that the layoffs would be done in a “humane way” and floated the idea of paying government workers salaries for two years while they look for new jobs. He also mused about imposing term limits on bureaucrats.
“We still want regulation, but it's just necessary,” he said. “I liken it to refereeing on the field. You don't want to have zero referees, but you also don't want to have more referees than players. That's crazy.”
How the “EV Mandate” or lack thereof will affect Tesla
Musk's business has received government support through numerous administrations. Most recently, Tesla benefited from the Biden administration's anti-inflation law, which provides hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies for investing in renewable energy projects, as well as an EV tax credit for buyers.
Tesla made more than $2 billion in 2024 from air credits it sells to other automakers under Environmental Protection Agency rules.
Now, President Trump has previously talked about ending the non-existent “EV mandate,” but he is expected to reverse many of Biden's EV policies. If he ends EV subsidies, that could be further good news for Tesla, given that many of its rivals are still playing catch-up.
“Tesla has unparalleled scale and reach in the EV industry, and this dynamic gives Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a subsidy-free environment,” said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush. It may bring about.”
Tesla stock was up about 15% at midday Wednesday.
SpaceX accelerates its Mars mission
SpaceX will also benefit from the Trump administration. President Trump made many major changes to U.S. space policy during his first term, including the creation of the U.S. Space Force and the re-establishment of the National Space Council for the first time in 24 years. No major changes are expected in U.S. space priorities, especially the flagship Artemis program to return humans to the moon. However, the 2024 Republican platform included a clear, albeit short, passage that space is a major emerging industry in which the United States should play a leading role. The document says the United States will send astronauts “to the moon and then to Mars.” .
In recent weeks, President Trump has significantly increased his rhetoric about space exploration. At an Oct. 24 rally, he congratulated SpaceX's human Mars mission: Thank you, Elon. Go, move your spaceship, Elon. “I want to reach Mars by the end of my term,'' he said in a separate speech.
The next Earth-Mars travel period is in 2026, so an unmanned mission to Mars could actually take place before the end of President Trump's second term. Given the amount of time Musk and Trump have spent together on the campaign trail, it's probably no coincidence that this is the latest timeline Musk himself has spoken about regarding SpaceX's Mars plans. “The first spacecraft to Mars will be launched within two years…If the landing goes well, the first manned flight to Mars will be within four years,” he told X.
Achieving these schedules may require changes within the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates commercial launches in the United States. SpaceX is engaged in an increasingly public war of words over the FAA's alleged failure to keep up with the pace of commercial innovation. As SpaceX said in a recent blog post, “extra” delays for government agencies could be a primary target of Musk's proposed Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk is not the only space billionaire eager to connect with the president. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin welcomed a visit from President Trump in late October. (On the same day, the Washington Post, owned by Mr. Bezos, announced for the first time in its history that it would not endorse a presidential candidate.)
X and xAI
The impact of President Trump's victory is less clear when it comes to X, the social media platform Musk owns, and xAI, his fast-growing AI company, but Musk is already talking about potential ramifications. I'm starting to guess.
Since Musk took office, more than 200 advertisers, including Apple, Disney, IBM, Paramount and Sony, have stopped advertising on X. Musk believes things will change now that Trump has won the White House.
A recent global survey conducted by market research firm Kantar found that 26% of marketers plan to spend less on X in 2025 due to concerns that extreme content on the platform could damage their brand. I understand that you are planning to reduce it. Still, “if Trump wins, most of the boycotts will probably be lifted,” Musk said in a recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
X has also been the focus of several federal investigations, including the Federal Trade Commission, which has investigated the platform's privacy practices under the Musk administration, and which FTC Chair Lina Khan has publicly criticized. There is. In late October, Musk said, “She will be fired soon.”
Musk has had further conflicts with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the years. Last year, authorities filed charges against Musk and sought to issue subpoenas in connection with disclosures about his purchases of Twitter stock and investments in the company. In response, Musk called for a “comprehensive review” of the SEC.
Meanwhile, Musk's AI company xAI is reportedly aiming to raise billions on top of its recent $6 billion Series B at a valuation of $40 billion, but due to the Trump administration's lack of AI regulation, may benefit. Experts say they expect Mr. Trump to take a lighter regulatory approach, relying on existing laws rather than passing new ones.
Matt Mittelstead, a researcher at George Mason University, believes the biggest impact on AI could come from trade policy. President Trump has proposed imposing 10% tariffs on all U.S. imports and 60% tariffs on products made in China, which could have an economic impact on the AI sector.