How Elon Musk will benefit from Trump’s 2024 election: NPR

On Wednesday morning after the US election, Elon Musk posted what appeared to be an AI-generated image of himself on his social media platform X. In it, he salutes the American flag in front of a dusty pink sky. His caption reads, “Morning has come again in America.”

It was the culmination of his frenetic effort to re-elect Donald Trump as president. Over the past few weeks, Mr. Musk has excitedly attended Mr. Trump’s rallies, funneled more than $100 million of his personal funds to pro-Trump super PACs, and huddled with Mr. Trump in West Palm Beach throughout Election Day. Ta.

President Trump mentioned Musk by name during his victory speech. “We have a new star,” he declared. “A star is born, Elon!”

Musk is the world’s richest man with a fortune of about $290 billion, and has a lot to gain from Trump’s inauguration. Many of the companies he owns, including Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink, rely heavily on government subsidies. He has already begun to benefit through the stock market, with his investments soaring by more than $26 billion on Nov. 6. With a friendly government, Mr. Musk could continue to accumulate wealth and consolidate his power while using his feed to X as a megaphone. his allies.

“The whole idea of ​​quid pro quo is very clear,” Gita Johar said, noting the pair’s very public interactions and warm relationship during the campaign. Johar is a professor at Columbia Business School who studies X and consumer psychology. “Mr. Musk unequivocally supported Mr. Trump with an unprecedented level of support, not just financially, but personally. And the idea and expectation was, ‘You’re going to take care of me, and I think it was something like, “I’ll take care of you, too.”

Representatives for the Trump campaign, X, and Musk did not respond to requests for comment.

Here are some ways the Trump administration could benefit Musk and his companies.

Musk could become President Trump’s new ‘cost-cutting secretary’

In August, Musk floated the idea of ​​creating a “Government Efficiency Commission” that would act as an auditor for the entire federal government. Musk first brought up the issue during a livestreamed conversation with Trump about X. Musk said the commission can ensure that taxpayer money is “spent in the right way.”

Just three weeks later, Trump announced he would create a commission and put Musk in charge.

Ethics experts immediately pointed to numerous conflicts of interest. Musk’s business is regulated by multiple federal agencies. His electric car company, Tesla, has received government funding and millions of dollars to install EV charging stations. His rocket company, SpaceX, won billions of dollars in government contracts for moon missions. And his satellite internet company, Starlink, has also received millions of dollars in subsidies from the federal government.

During the first Trump administration, at least one government appointee (Wilbur Ross, then Secretary of Commerce) was allegedly able to ignore ethics rules with little repercussions. Mr. Ross said he intended to sell millions of dollars in assets and was unable to do so, even though he told ethics officials he had done so.

As chairman of a government committee, Musk could have significant influence over federal agencies and how funding is allocated. President Trump has not provided details about how the commission will operate or what autonomy it will have. However, he stressed that he would consider significant budget cuts.

Trump repeatedly referred to the commission during his campaign rallies, dubbing Musk the “cost-cutting secretary.” Musk said this role would cut the federal budget by nearly a third, or an eye-watering $2 trillion. Similar committees in the past have not been given the power to actually make cuts, but rather to make recommendations to Congress.

What will happen to the federal investigation into Musk’s business empire?

Musk’s companies have faced increased regulatory scrutiny during President Joe Biden’s administration. The Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Labor Relations Board, Environmental Protection Agency, and Federal Trade Commission have all launched investigations into his businesses.

The Department of Justice is investigating Tesla for allegedly misleading consumers about the self-driving features of Tesla cars and for wire fraud. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has begun investigating Tesla’s Autopilot driver assistance system as a cause of multiple fatal crashes. Last year, more than 2 million vehicles were recalled.

In response to the recall, Musk posted on X, “The funny cops made us do this (sigh).”

The Environmental Protection Agency has investigated and fined several of Musk’s companies, including Tesla and SpaceX. The EPA said it was “looking into the matter” after NPR reported about nearly 20 methane gas turbines at Musk’s xAI artificial intelligence supercomputer facility.

X is also the focus of a government investigation. The Federal Trade Commission is investigating the social media site’s privacy practices, and the Securities and Exchange Commission is disputing Musk’s purchase of the company’s stock, saying he did not initially disclose his investment. Musk began accumulating stock in 2021 and acquired the company about a year later for $44 billion.

At one point, during another battle with the SEC, this time over Tesla, Musk mocked the SEC by posting, “SEC, 3 letter acronym, the word in the middle is Elon’s.”

Like Mr. Musk, Mr. Trump is well known for his disregard for regulations. And experts like Dzhokhar say lighter restrictions are likely to be encouraged under his presidency.

“I think government contracts will be awarded to Mr. Musk without much oversight,” Dzhokhar said. “And it’s the lack of regulation, the lack of oversight, all of which will benefit Musk.”

Mr. Trump has already made it clear that he is a fan of Mr. Musk’s company. The former president, who once criticized electric cars, now appears to support Tesla. At an August rally, Trump said, “I’m for electric cars. Elon supported me very strongly, so we have to do it.” And in October, he gave a nod to SpaceX. He said this while doing so. “We will land American astronauts on Mars. Thank you, Elon.”

Trump criticized Musk in his victory speech Wednesday morning, saying, “We have to protect the geniuses. We have to protect the geniuses.” There aren’t that many. ”

X could become an even more influential machine

Since Mr. Musk bought X, it has increasingly become a megaphone for conservative politics. He often endorses right-wing leaders, issues, and political views. He touted his favorite politicians, promoted conspiracy theories about immigration and other hot topics, and slandered Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Kamala vows to be a communist dictator from day one,” Musk wrote in September, along with an AI-generated image of Harris wearing a red suit and a hat emblazoned with a hammer and sickle. Posted. “Can you believe she’s wearing that outfit!?”

Musk has the largest account on X, with more than 200 million followers. He tends to stir up rumors, which gain momentum and confuse people as to whether it’s real or not. For example, he promoted a false claim that Haitian immigrants were eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio, which quickly spread across X and spilled over into real life in this small city. After city officials dismissed the claims as false, they received anonymous threats, including 33 bomb threats against local schools, according to CNN.

Since Mr. Musk endorsed Mr. Trump in July, he has increasingly amplified his pro-Trump posts and conservative politicians, according to a detailed analysis by The Wall Street Journal. According to the magazine’s analysis, X’s algorithm tends to recommend right-leaning partisan topics, and these political posts account for half of the total number of posts in people’s “For You” home feeds.

“[Musk]is holding the megaphone right now, and I think Trump will eventually be holding that megaphone,” Dzhokhar said. “There are a lot of people in X who just keep rooting for this. And when you say we’re all living in a bubble, I think it’s one giant bubble.”

Under the Trump administration, X will be seen as a platform supported by the US president, potentially increasing its influence even further.

On election night, one of Musk’s posts to his millions of followers read, “You are the media now.”