What Trump's election victory means for Tesla billionaire Elon Musk

Elon Musk, who spent over $100 million and his social media platform

The world's richest man was the only Fortune 100 CEO to choose a side, endorsing Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania shortly after the assassination attempt in July.

In the final weeks of the campaign, Musk went out of his way to host town halls in the battleground state of Pennsylvania and hand out $1 million checks to swing state voters.

Meeting with other wealthy donors at Mar-a-Lago as Trump rode a red wave to success, Musk tweeted a photo of a SpaceX rocket taking off: “The future is going to be amazing.”

Will Musk's election bet pay off?

Trump made it clear in his victory speech that Musk will have an ally in the White House. “A star is born,” Trump said of the tech billionaire.

According to Open Secrets, that star power could give Musk significant influence over government policy and the federal agencies that oversee his constellation of six companies from Tesla to SpaceX, which have won $15.4 billion in government contracts over the last decade.

It is common for presidents to tap business leaders for prominent roles in their administrations. But Musk's reach could be unprecedented, said Dan Schnur, who teaches strategic political communications at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley.

“If Donald Trump were Willy Wonka, Elon Musk would have just won all five golden tickets,” Schnur said. “Not only does Trump respect him, he not only adores him, but Trump feels like he owes him something. Add that up and it's hard to imagine Musk writing a wish list that Trump won't sign off on.

Musk could play a big role in the Trump White House

Trump has promised to give Musk an official role in cutting government spending in his administration, which he has described as “cost-cutting secretary.” Musk joked that he would lead a “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), referring to the cryptocurrency he advocates.

Musk tweeted that he was excited to work with Trump on a commission to cut government spending. He has boasted that he could cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, but has offered no details about how that would happen.

Additionally, Musk could have a say in choosing the heads of regulatory agencies that oversee his companies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.

About a parody meme of Musk holding a ceramic sink in the Oval Office – a reference to how he carried a real sink into Twitter headquarters in San Francisco after taking over the company – Musk wrote: “Let that sink in .”

Gita Johar, a professor at Columbia Business School in New York, said she had never seen such “explicit quid pro quo” before.

“I think it could be a very cozy arrangement that benefits Musk,” Johar said.

What could be problematic, according to Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, is that Musk may be given the power to shape agencies he has criticized in the past.

“It’s one thing to include business leaders on an advisory board,” Clark said. “But the chair of an efficiency commission of any kind should put the public’s interest first. That would be impossible for Elon Musk because Elon Musk has so many controversial interactions with federal agencies.”

What Trump's victory means for Tesla, SpaceX

Tesla shares rose sharply on Wednesday as investors bet that Trump's return to the White House will give the electric car maker a boost.

Trump, who has expressed disdain for electric vehicles and President Joe Biden's electric vehicle tax credits, signaled change following Musk's endorsement. “I am for electric cars. I have to be, you know, because Elon has been very supportive of me,” Trump said at a rally in August. “So I have no choice.”

Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, estimates that Tesla's market capitalization could increase by over $100 billion. The elimination of subsidies would hurt Tesla less than other electric vehicle manufacturers.

“We believe a Trump victory could boost Tesla shares by $40 to $50,” he wrote in a note.

With a direct line to the White House, Musk could have a chance to overcome regulatory hurdles for autonomous robotaxis and get Congress to approve a national standard for self-driving cars, business observers told USA TODAY.

Musk has clashed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over the use of driver assistance technology. The safety agency is investigating whether Tesla's “fully autonomous (monitored)” system was responsible for four collisions, including one that killed a pedestrian.

On election night, Trump also praised the role of Starlink satellites in connecting people in hurricane-ravaged North Carolina.

SpaceX is already a major contractor for NASA. Trump has publicly expressed support for Musk's plans to send rockets to Mars by 2028. “We are going to land an American astronaut on Mars,” Trump said in October.

Other potential benefits for Musk, experts say, include: Reduced regulation could spur growth at XAi, Musk's chatbot operator, and Neuralink, Musk's brain implant company, which recently received approval from the FDA to conduct human testing.

“Elon Musk and a certain part of Silicon Valley are extremely concerned that we have overregulated this economy and that there needs to be radical change,” said James Pethokoukis, senior fellow at the right-wing think tank American Enterprise Institute.

Musk has big plans for America PAC

Musk's ambitions don't end there.

Musk is already touting what he believes is record-breaking use of X, whose influence could increase during a second Trump term.

With an estimated net worth of $264 billion, control of a major social media platform and 200 million followers attached to his every meme, Musk is already planning to use his personal brand and newfound political power to to advance the conservative political movement he has embraced.

“America PAC will continue after this election,” Musk said in a livestream on Tuesday as he flew to Palm Beach on his private jet to watch the return of Trump and his family, promising that his super PAC “aims to to play a big role.” in future elections.

Musk could play a big role in the Trump White House

What Trump's victory means for Tesla, SpaceX

Musk has big plans for America PAC

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