Lately, Elon Musk seems to have gone from flippantly flirting with politics to having a full-blown love affair with rising his affect in Washington.
Because the presidential election inches nearer and the billionaire businessman continues teasing the concept of a Trump endorsement, it is turning into clear that Musk has lots at stake relying on who subsequent leads the nation.
Whereas Musk hasn’t publicly endorsed any candidate, Enterprise Insider beforehand reported he bonded with fellow billionaires over a shared mistrust of Democrats and privately mentioned how greatest to defeat them on this yr’s election.
In response to a latest report from The Wall Road Journal, Musk has additionally talked with the Trump marketing campaign about taking over a possible advisory position if the previous president returns to the White Home.
A consultant for the Trump marketing campaign declined to touch upon The Journal report however acknowledged that Silicon Valley elites like Musk have lined as much as help Trump’s reelection marketing campaign.
“It has been broadly reported and is demonstrated in a lot of ways in which most of the nation’s most vital leaders in expertise and innovation are involved with the injury accomplished to their business by Biden’s failures to deal with our economic system and his strikes to overburden innovators with authorities forms and unrelenting regulation,” Brian Hughes, a senior advisor to the Trump marketing campaign, informed BI in an announcement.
Whereas Musk is more and more flexing his political energy, whoever wins the White Home may drastically influence the billionaire and his companies. This is how issues may shake out for Musk below a second Trump administration versus a Biden win.
Elon below Trump
Musk beforehand served on enterprise advisory teams below the primary Trump administration however pulled out of the position over disagreements with Trump’s 2017 resolution to depart the Paris local weather accord.
If he have been to tackle a extra formal position in a hypothetical second Trump time period, Musk can be taking a chance on what’d be greatest for his quite a few multi-billion-dollar companies, Bradley Tusk informed BI.
Tusk is a enterprise capitalist and political strategist whose VC agency, Tusk Enterprise Companions, advises startups in extremely regulated industries. If he have been advising Musk now, Tusk mentioned he’d inform him: “You have to actually watch out what you would like for — for a bunch of causes.”
Underneath Trump, Tusk mentioned tax cuts and deregulation may result in a increase for Tesla, X, and SpaceX — particularly given Trump’s prior push to develop a Area Pressure. This might additionally include an enormous improve in political cache however presumably decreased stability within the markets, which Musk depends on to take care of his wealth and energy.
“There may be the potential to essentially have an incredible quantity of affect inside Trump’s administration,” Stacey Lee, a regulation and ethics professor on the Johns Hopkins Carey Enterprise Faculty, informed BI. “And whenever you take a look at the hallmarks of what Trump actually respects — he is widespread, he has a administration type that’s extra singular in its voice — these are the entire issues that Trump actually admires, and so does Musk.”
“In that regard,” she mentioned, “they might be somewhat odd kindred spirits.”
Elon below Biden
In a world the place Biden is elected once more, Musk may not have the affect he seems to crave, however Tusk mentioned he’d have one thing that markets and corporations depend on for robust development: stability.
“Musk simply acquired a $55 billion pay package deal permitted below Joe Biden as President — proper now, his life’s fairly good,” Tusk mentioned. “And now we’ve the selection of a president who genuinely believes in clear power and somebody who actively despises it. So, for these Tesla shareholders, it is lots higher for them if Joe Biden’s president. They usually simply gave Elon $55 billion to do what’s greatest for the corporate.”
Nonetheless, Lee informed BI {that a} second Biden administration would even be susceptible to extra regulation and pro-union insurance policies, neither of which may be very enticing to Musk as a businessman.
“Biden may be very conventional when it comes to his insurance policies. He’s dedicated to elevating company taxes,” Lee mentioned. “Underneath Trump, we noticed them go from 35% to 21%, and now Trump is saying, ‘Hey, if I get in, I will take it down to twenty.’ I feel that will be music to Musk’s ears.'”
A second Trump time period may backfire for Musk
“My preliminary intuition — I feel all people’s — can be like, ‘Oh, after all, it’d higher for Musk below Trump.’ However I feel in the end, it would be a lot worse,” Tusk mentioned.
Whereas Musk could be seduced by the attract of amassing much more energy, Tusk mentioned it is a double-edged sword with Trump.
Tusk mentioned Biden would not consider Elon as a rival — he in all probability would not take into consideration him in any respect. However with Trump, as has occurred with so a lot of his one-time allies, his affection for Musk may out of the blue flip, making the Tesla CEO a goal for his ire.
“On the Trump facet, Musk must be cautious and never go headlong into this. As seductive because it might sound, it actually ends badly for mainly all people,” Tusk mentioned. “And all of the issues that he values, the issues that kind of makes him completely happy — the eye and relevance — are the identical issues that make Trump completely happy.”
“And the one man you possibly can’t win a head-to-head battle with is the President of america,” he added.
Musk and Biden marketing campaign representatives didn’t reply to requests for remark from Enterprise Insider.
