President-elect Donald Trump has many prominent supporters. His election night party in Florida was also attended by hockey great Wayne Gretzky, UFC president Dana White and, of course, Elon Musk.
Mr. Musk spent a lot of time and money campaigning for Mr. Trump’s re-election this fall. And with a second Trump inauguration just around the corner, there’s also speculation about what role Texas’ richest man might play in the administration.
Maria Kuri, head of technology at Axios, said Musk’s political action committee spent $118 million to help Trump win the election.
“One thing is for sure: He’s going to have some influence. I think the question now is what exactly that will be,” she said. Ta. “If you ask me, Elon Musk has to go through the Senate confirmation process and then go through the necessary ethical rules to divest from some companies, including divestitures from other companies (Tesla). or So, in my opinion, he has a more informal role rather than a formal cabinet position that requires Senate confirmation. ”
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Khoury said that regardless of Musk’s exact role, he would likely benefit from less regulation and oversight during Trump’s second term.
“That’s certainly something he’s trying to push. He’s very interested in government efficiency and this idea of not having overly burdensome regulations enforced,” Kuri said. Ta. “And one of the spaces that we’re particularly focused on is airspace, because we know that Donald Trump himself hasn’t talked much about it.”But Elon Musk , known as a proponent of a system that prioritizes free speech above all kinds of harmful content.
“And unlike the Biden administration, which has started putting a lot of resources into enforcing regulations and putting a lot of people and money into these agencies, I think that will be significantly halted and scaled back. I think we will see it.”
There’s also a lot of discussion about what this means for SpaceX in particular. Musk’s airline has faced backlash from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and others over the environmental impact of its South Texas launch facility, which will put those agencies under increased scrutiny. Possibly, Kuri said.
President Trump has already begun naming members of his administration, and Kurri said it could be known soon if Musk wins an advisory role.
“We just saw Donald Trump pick his chief of staff, so they’re moving very quickly to start filling these important personnel roles,” she said. “If Elon Musk is not appointed to the Cabinet, that means the government could start giving him a public role before Trump officially takes office, because of course the current Senate Because we’re still under Democratic control and we’re a lame duck for the next few months. Therefore, he will not be considered for any cabinet position confirmed in the coming months. ”
