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Elon Musk — the billionaire CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, and owner of The Boring Company, Neuralink, and wealthInfluence and megaphone on X to influence the outcome of the election.
Musk’s support came despite Trump’s stance against electric cars and skepticism about climate change, a centerpiece of the executive branch’s relationship with Trump for years. Musk served on two advisory boards during Trump’s first term, but left them in protest of Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accords.
Musk — who is worth more than $260 billion and has donated more than $100 million to pro-Trump super PACs — is now poised to be the next president’s most influential political and business adviser. Trump promised Musk the position of head of a new government efficiency department during September Appearance at the Economic Club of New York.
Musk named the yet-to-be-formed division DOGE, a reference to the cryptocurrency he has favored in the past, causing the coin to rise in market capitalization by more than 6% in the past 24 hours.
This role could give the billionaire the executive authority to recommend deep cuts to what he believes is a “massive federal bureaucracy… that is seriously holding America back.”
During Trump’s victory speech, he praised his biggest donor, calling Musk a “supergenius” and adding, “We need to protect our geniuses.” “A star is born, Elon,” Trump said separately Tuesday night.
He did a lot anticipation There will be a falling out between the two bigwigs before Trump’s four-year term ends, but even if part of Musk’s plans for DOGE become a reality, it could represent one of the most significant examples of an entrepreneur helping to shape the policies and regulations that govern his business.
Here’s what we think a Trump win would mean for Musk and his companies.
Using Tesla’s method to reduce government spending
While Trump has largely gained power Marketing itself As a good businessman, despite multiple bankruptcies, Musk can at least claim to have been successful in his endeavors (despite the X). According to John McNeil, former Tesla president, this is due to a formula centered around innovation through subtraction and radically simplifying issues.
This includes steps like questioning all requirements, deleting every possible step in the process before rebuilding it again, and automating the workflow. We should expect to see Musk take a similar approach to government spending if he is appointed to his promised post, which will task him with conducting a “full financial and performance review of the entire federal government and making recommendations for radical reforms,” according to the American “space” website. Comments made by Trump In September.
On Tuesday night, Musk said he would look to trim the fat at all government agencies, and he broadcast a live Q&A as he traveled on a private plane from Texas to watch the election results with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
“There are a lot of duplicate responsibilities where many agencies already have overlapping portfolios,” Musk said. “There are a lot of people working in government and we just need to move them into more productive roles in the private sector.”
Musk indicated that the job cuts would be done “in a humane way” and floated the idea of paying government employees’ salaries for two years while they search for new jobs. He also considered imposing term limits on bureaucrats.
“We still want to see regulations, they just have to be necessary,” he said. “I liken it to referees on the field. You don’t want to have referees, but you don’t want to have more referees than players. It’s crazy.”
How might an “electric vehicle mandate” or the lack thereof impact Tesla?
Musk’s businesses have received government assistance across several departments. More recently, Tesla benefited from the Biden administration’s inflation-reducing law, which provided hundreds of billions in subsidies for investment in renewable energy projects, as well as tax breaks for electric vehicles for buyers.
Tesla has won More than $2 billion in 2024 of the clean air credits it sells to other automakers under EPA rules.
Now, Trump, who previously talked about ending the nonexistent “electric vehicle mandate,” is expected to roll back several of Biden’s electric vehicle policies. If it ends government subsidies for electric cars, it could be additional good news for Tesla since many of its competitors are still trying to catch up.
“Tesla has unparalleled scale and scale in the electric vehicle industry, and this dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in an unsupported environment,” the Wedbush analyst says. Dan Ives said.
Tesla stock rose nearly 15% midday Wednesday.
Accelerating SpaceX’s mission to Mars
SpaceX is expected to benefit from the Trump administration as well. During his first term, Trump enacted a number of major changes to US space policy, including the formation of the US Space Force and the re-establishment of the National Space Council for the first time in 24 years. There are not expected to be any major changes in America’s space priorities, especially its flagship program to return humans to the Moon, Artemis. but Republican Party 2024 platform It included a clear, if brief, paragraph that space was a key emerging industry in which America should play a leading role: The document states that the country would send astronauts “to the moon, and then to Mars.”
In recent weeks, Trump has dramatically increased his talk about space exploration. in March 24 OctoberHe gave his blessing to SpaceX’s crewed missions to Mars: “We’re going to land an American astronaut on Mars. Thank you, Elon. Go ahead, move this spaceship, Elon.” In a separate speech, he said he wants to “get to Mars.” Before the end of my term.”
The next transition period between Earth and Mars will be in 2026, so an unmanned mission to Mars could already be carried out before the end of Trump’s second term. It’s probably no coincidence, given the time Musk and Trump spent together on the campaign trail, that this is the latest timeline Musk himself has given for SpaceX’s plans for the Red Planet: “The first spacecraft will launch to Mars within two years…if landings go well This is well, as it will be the first manned mission to Mars within 4 years. He said on X.
Meeting these timelines may require changes within the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates commercial launches in the United States. SpaceX is waging an increasingly public war of words over the FAA’s alleged inability to keep up with the pace of commercial innovation. “Redundant” agency delays, SpaceX said in a recent blog post, could be a key target of Musk’s proposed government efficiency management.
Musk isn’t the only space billionaire wanting to establish contact with the president: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin welcomed Trump’s visit at the end of October. (On the same day, the Washington Post, owned by Bezos, announced that it would not endorse a presidential candidate for the first time in the newspaper’s history.)
X and XAI
As for Company
More than 200 advertisers have stopped advertising on X since Musk took over, including Apple, Disney, IBM, Paramount and Sony. Musk believes this will change now that Trump has won the White House.
A Recent global survey A study by market research firm Kantar found that 26% of marketers plan to reduce spending on X in 2025 due to concerns that extremist content on the platform could harm their brands. However, during Musk’s recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, he said, “I think if Trump wins, we’ll probably see most of the boycott lifted.”
X has also been the focus of several federal investigations, including one from the Federal Trade Commission, which investigated the platform’s privacy practices under Musk, and which FTC Chairwoman Lena Khan has publicly criticized. In late October, Musk said: “She will be fired soon.”
Musk has gone head-to-head with the SEC over the years. Last year, the agency filed a lawsuit against Musk and attempted to subpoena him regarding his purchase of Twitter shares and disclosures about his investment in the company. Musk called for a “comprehensive overhaul” of the SEC in response.
Meanwhile, Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI — which is reportedly hoping to raise several billion dollars on top of its recent $6 billion Series B at a $40 billion valuation — may benefit from the lack of AI regulation from the Trump administration. Experts say they expect a light-hearted regulatory approach from Trump, relying on existing legislation rather than passing any new laws.
Matt Mittelstead, a research fellow at George Mason University, believes AI’s biggest impact could come from trade policy. Trump has proposed imposing a 10% tariff on all US imports and a 60% tariff on Chinese-made products, which could have an economic impact on the artificial intelligence sector.
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