Musk became a major force in the US presidential election by supporting Trump’s campaign with at least $119 million. Beyond financial backing, Musk has amplified pro-Trump messaging on X. Now, Musk is all set to join the second Trump administration.
Musk the “greatest cutter”
Trump praised Musk for his approach to handling workforce reductions during an interview on Musk’s social media platform, X, in August.
During the conversation, Trump expressed admiration for Musk’s decisive management style, especially in dealing with strikes and layoffs. He commented, “You’re the greatest cutter. I mean, I look at what you do. You walk in, you just say: ‘You want to quit?’ They go on strike – I won’t mention the name of the company – but they go on strike. And you say: ‘That’s okay, you’re all gone.'”
In May, Tesla had announced that it will reduce 10% of its work force, 600 employees, under pressure from dropping sales.Musk the “secretary of cost-cutting” or the “efficiency commissioner”?During the Trump rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden last month, Musk made headlines with bold claims of potential budget cuts, saying that he could slash at least $2 trillion from the federal budget if Trump won the upcoming election.
“Your money is being wasted,” Musk said to an enthusiastic crowd for Trump, adding, “We’re going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook.” Musk’s proposal aligns with Trump’s campaign rhetoric of reducing federal expenditures and shrinking government intervention.
Weeks before Musk’s claim, Trump had revealed plans for a unique position for him during a Fox News interview.
While praising Musk, calling him “a great business guy” and “a great cost-cutter”, Trump said, “He [Musk] said, ‘I could cut costs without affecting anybody.’” When asked if Musk would join his Cabinet should he return to office, Trump clarified, “He doesn’t want to be in the Cabinet. He just wants to be in charge of cost-cutting. We’ll have a new position: Secretary of Cost-Cutting.”
Earlier, Trump had announced that if he is elected the President of the US, he will create a government efficiency commission – an idea that was pushed by Musk – adding that the Tesla CEO will be its chief. “We need to do it. Can’t go on the way we are now,” Trump said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York, a group of executives and industry leaders, in September.
As per Trump, the government efficiency commission will be “tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government.” The Republican presidential nominee claimed that in 2022, “fraud and improper payments alone cost taxpayers an estimated hundreds of billions of dollars.” The commission, he said, will recommend “drastic reforms” and develop a plan to eliminate fraud and improper payments within six months, which he claimed will save “trillions of dollars”.
How exactly will Musk fit into Trump administration?
It may not be easy for Musk to become a part of the Trump administration given his various business interests, financial dealings of his six companies in terms of contracts and funding with the government and his quarrels with various regulators. Moreover, a new post for Musk must be approved by the Congress.
“Musk’s myriad financial and political conflicts might also make it impossible for him to secure Congress’ blessing to run any agency,” says a Bloomberg article. “But Musk doesn’t necessarily need an agency or a title to have influence in a Trump White House. He’s almost certain to remain a powerful consiglieri should Trump win, someone with easy access who can shape legislation and the Oval Office’s agenda. His major companies would obviously benefit from his proximity to Trump, as any tour of his portfolio reveals. (Musk and his companies didn’t answer requests for comment for this column.).”
The Bloomberg report says a part-time advisory or commission role for Musk will be welcomed by investors in Tesla (and his other companies) who might think he would eb able to influence regulation and policy.
Despite concerns over potential conflict of interest, Musk has openly stated less regulation for his various businesses. “What we’re seeing with SpaceX, Tesla and whatnot is that the sort of regulatory oppression year after year is worse and worse,” he said at a town hall event in Pennsylvania in October.
Musk stands to benefit from Trump’s regulatory posture, an NBC News article says.
“Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has been engaged in recent years in at least 19 separate regulatory or legal battles with the Biden administration and independent federal agencies related to his sprawling business empire, according to a tally by NBC News. And 10 of those are ongoing, with the result possibly in the hands of the next president’s administration,” the NBC News article says.
“The 19 separate fights between Musk and the federal government have involved 12 different government entities and touched on a broad cross-section of everyday life: from a wildlife refuge in Texas near a SpaceX launch site to alleged racial harassment at a Tesla factory in California to Tesla’s decision to market driver-assistance software as “full self-driving” even though it requires human supervision.”
There are at least 10 ongoing fights between Musk’s companies and the federal government, from regulatory lawsuits to criminal investigations, as per the NBC News article.
(With inputs from agencies)
