Donald Trump’s election night address to the country confirmed that one of the biggest winners of the evening—besides himself—was Elon Musk.
Trump spent much of his victory speech thanking Musk, who has recently spent more than $130 million and plenty of time and tweets on the conservative political cause. In particular, Trump had high praise for Musk’s rocket company SpaceX and its Starlink Internet satellites—two business units ripe for government contracts.
“We have to protect our super geniuses,” said the president-elect. On the campaign trail, Trump said he would create a new “government efficiency” position in his administration for a chief technology officer, at Musk’s request.
Musk has been known to cite government abuse in the face of any fines or penalties. So it’s no surprise that the billionaire has linked up with Trump, who has promised to roll back the rules.
In addition to lower government oversight, Musk’s alliance with Trump could help secure federal contracts. The New York Times the reports that SpaceX and Tesla they’ve already collected at least $15.4 billion in government contracts over the past decade. Musk’s colleagues and government officials say Reuters The billionaire’s investment in Trump is part of a broader effort to protect his companies from regulation and secure access to government subsidies.
Below are some of the ways each of Musk’s businesses will benefit from taking back the Trump White House.
SpaceX and Starlink
The tension between the Federal Aviation Administration and SpaceX is high. In September, Musk demanded the resignation of FAA chief Michael Whitaker over $630,000 in fines to SpaceX for violations during its rocket launches. Musk said Trump’s plan for a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) includes loosening rules on its rocket launches.
Meanwhile, Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet unit, can do it too get a friendlier reception from the Federal Communications Commission Under Trump, assuming the president taps Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr to replace incumbent Jessica Rosenworcel. Carr has called the FCC’s plan to rescind $885 million in subsidies to Starlink in 2022 “regulatory harassment.” And Trump himself has suggested using Starlink’s satellite services for rural connectivity — a potential subsidy for Starlink — as part of the government’s $42 billion future broadband funding plan.
X
After Musk took over what was Twitter for $44 billion, the Federal Trade Commission He investigated whether X and its new owner they violated the FTC data privacy agreement with the company. After acquiring the service, now known as X, Musk cut its privacy and security compliance teams, which were supposed to keep the company in good standing with the FTC. Last week, Musk promised some pushback by saying FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan would be fired under a Trump administration. Never mind that Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, praised Khan for being tough on monopolies.
xAI
Musk’s AI startup, xAI, has a chatbot that competes against OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other language-heavy models. Musk is therefore very interested in any regulation affecting AI.
So far, federal discussions about passing broad regulation of AI companies have not materialized. But Musk can step in by advising Trump Replacing the lighter touch of the Biden administration’s AI executive orderA framework for using and developing AI that places some restrictions on AI companies.
In California, Musk sponsored controversial security legislation, SB 1047, that would have restricted large AI companies. That legislation was strongly opposed by venture capitalists and large-scale developers, citing the potentially catastrophic risks of artificial intelligence.
Tesla
Federal auto safety regulators last month hit Tesla with a new investigation into its Full Self-Driving mode, which partially automates human driving, after a Tesla driver killed a pedestrian. Musk could use his influence to shape federal auto safety enforcement or federal regulation of self-driving cars or robotaxis. It’s an area he cares a lot about, as Tesla hopes to introduce robotaxis to take on more established competitors like Alphabet’s Waymo and even GM’s Cruise.
Musk could try to lobby Trump with his opposition to the Biden administration’s electric vehicle tax credits, which encourage EV purchases.
Trump’s promise to raise tariffs on China and other competing nations like Biden’s could also complicate matters for Musk. Curbing imports of cheaper EVs would eliminate some of Tesla’s competition in the US, but an escalating trade war would also hurt the technology significantly by disrupting reliance on China and Taiwan for chips.
Regardless, investors are hopeful: Tesla shares rose 15% after Trump’s victory speech.
Boring business
Musk’s visions for high-speed transportation like the Boring Company’s Hyperloop project are stifled by regulations and the limitations of current technology. Instead, he’s focused on a lower-tech version: Teslas send passengers underground near the Las Vegas convention center. The project has faced an OSHA investigation work safety. But despite the high costs, complicated infrastructure and dangerous conditions, Musk insisted government regulations are to blame For tunnel projects in other US cities. Either way, having allies in the US government could make it easier for Boring to win big infrastructure projects.
Neuralink
As the founder of brain chip company Neuralink, Musk has criticized the Food and Drug Administration’s lengthy approval process for new drugs and medical devices, saying at a rally in Pennsylvania that “overregulation is killing people.” It was later reported that Musk was referencing the cancer drug indeed, it was accepted. However, Musk’s vision of expanded “government efficiency” would also appeal to the FDA, and perhaps get his Neuralink faster approvals. To date, Neuralink has implanted brain devices in two FDA-approved patients.
A newsletter for the bravest and brightest leaders:
CEO Daily is a weekday morning dossier on the news, trends and gossip that business leaders need to know.
Sign up here.
