What Elon Musk could gain from Trump’s presidency

Donald Trump’s return to the White House also appears to be a victory for one of his most visible supporters: Elon Musk.

Musk, the richest man in the world, spent election night with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

“The American people tonight gave @realDonaldTrump a crystal-clear mandate for change,” Musk wrote on the social media platform X, which he owns.

Trump also mentioned Musk in his victory speech, spending several minutes praising his rocket company Space X.

Musk’s partnership with the newly elected president has also boosted the stock price of his electric car maker Tesla – and with it his fortune, which now stands at an estimated $290 billion.

Musk endorsed the Republican almost immediately after the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania in July.

He had previously described himself as a “political moderate” but said ahead of the 2024 presidential election that he had no choice but to support Trump as the Republican candidate.

He has repeatedly expressed concerns about the Biden administration’s handling of immigration and the economy, claiming that freedom of speech would be at risk under a new Democratic presidency.

As one of the president-elect’s top backers, the tech billionaire donated more than $119 million (£92 million) to fund a Super PAC aimed at Trump’s re-election.

He also spent the final weeks before Election Day organizing a get-out-the-vote campaign in battleground states, including a daily $1 million giveaway to voters in those states.

The giveaway became the subject of a legal challenge, although a judge later ruled that they could continue.

After throwing his name, money and platform behind Trump, Musk has a lot to gain from Trump’s re-election.

The president-elect has said he would invite Musk into his administration in a second term to eliminate government waste.

Mr. Musk has referred to the potential effort as the “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE, the name of a meme and cryptocurrency he has popularized.

The businessman could also benefit from Trump’s presidency through his ownership of SpaceX, which already dominates the business of sending government satellites into space.

With a close ally in the White House, Musk could try to further capitalize on these government ties.

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Musk has criticized rivals, including Boeing, for the structure of their government contracts, which he says discourages completing projects on budget and on time.

SpaceX has also started building spy satellites just as the Pentagon and US spy agencies appear ready to invest billions of dollars in them.

Tesla, meanwhile, could reap profits from an administration that Trump has said would be defined by “the lowest regulatory burden.”

Tesla’s share price rose more than 12% on Wednesday after news of Trump’s victory.

Last month, the US agency responsible for regulating road safety revealed it was investigating Tesla’s self-driving software systems.

Musk has also come under fire for allegedly trying to prevent Tesla workers from joining a union. The United Auto Workers filed unfair labor practice charges against both Trump and Musk after the two discussed Musk firing striking workers during a conversation on X.

Trump has also promised to cut taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

That’s another promise Musk likely hopes to keep.

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher provides insight into the race for the White House in his biweekly US Election Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.