trump’s “new star”: what benefits will Elon Musk get after the election?
8 November 2024 07:43
The founder of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, who supported Donald Trump’s election campaign, could benefit greatly from his victory. In his victory speech, Trump specifically mentioned Musk, emphasizing that the new administration would be favorable to him because the country needs to “protect geniuses.” The Guardian writes about it, "Komersant Ukrainian" informs
“Musk, who is worth $264 billion, can easily afford to donate more than $100 million to his fellow billionaire’s campaign,” Dan Milmo writes in The Guardian.
The article also emphasizes that there are already signs that Musk’s “investment” in Trump’s campaign has begun to return. For example, Tesla shares rose by almost 15 percent in trading on Wall Street with a market capitalization of $900 billion.
Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, believes that Trump’s victory could increase Tesla’s value by up to $200 billion, which would make Musk personally richer by $26 billion.
“The biggest upside from Trump’s victory will be for Tesla and Musk,” Ives said, citing possible benefits such as the possibility of Trump imposing tariffs – or import taxes – on electric vehicles made in China.
In addition, it is reported that the billionaire may not recoup the $44 billion he spent to acquire the social network Twitter (now X), but control of the platform has enabled him to amplify pro-Trump messages.
“Musk is also likely to play a role in the Trump administration. In September, Trump announced that he would form a government commission on efficiency, which Musk would head,” the media outlet also writes.
Musk also owns SpaceX, a rocket company that has a number of US government contracts. Last month alone, it won contracts worth more than $700 million from the US Space Force. According to a recent New York Times analysis, SpaceX and Tesla have received at least $15.4 billion in government contracts over the past decade.
Given that Musk received contracts from the Space Force during the Biden administration, it is expected that the flow of federal deals will not decrease under Trump.
Musk is also likely to play a role in the Trump administration.
“In September, Trump announced that he would form a government commission on efficiency, which would be headed by Musk. A full-fledged government job would require Musk to manage his companies in a fiduciary capacity, but a part-time government efficiency position would not require such actions,” the author of the article writes.
“In theory, Musk cannot take a full-time government job without entrusting his companies. However, he can participate as an ad hoc member of a presidential commission, etc. without doing so,” said Brian Quinn, a professor at Boston College Law School.
Musk has already made it clear that the government’s efficiency body would help SpaceX, saying on X that his business could reach Mars sooner “if it doesn’t get strangled by red tape.”
He added in a post on X: “A government efficiency department is the only way to extend life beyond Earth.”
Musk’s other companies include artificial intelligence startup xAI, which is reportedly approaching a $40 billion valuation, and brain implant firm Neuralink, which is reportedly worth $8 billion.
