As Musk’s big bet on Trump pays off, the US government faces ‘tough’ reform

Elon Muskthe world’s richest man, has broad powers in the second Trump administration as a deputy tasked with restructuring the government using his aggressive approach to business.

The next chapter in the South African tycoon’s life begins after he gave unprecedented support to Trump’s election campaign and emerged a huge winner in his first deep dive into policy.

He invested more than $100 million and used his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to amplify the former president’s anti-immigration and right-wing message.

His American PAC handed out $1 million to registered voters in key states and funded ground operations that expanded support for Trump in key swing districts.

But he appears to have already made the money back, and more: Tesla shares soared in the hours after Trump’s victory, netting Musk about $15 billion on Wednesday morning, Forbes reported.

On Wednesday, Musk shared a photo on X of himself with Trump at an election watch party in Florida, and the Republican nominee singled him out for a few minutes during a celebratory speech, calling his mega-backer a “super genius.”

It’s unclear how two volatile, larger-than-life characters who barely knew each other a few months ago will mesh as they sit down to get home. business.

Some predict the relationship will end in hostility given the strong personalities involved, while others see Musk’s vast wealth and talents as objects of Trump’s admiration that will remain unchanged.

“Immerse”

“America is a nation of builders. Soon you will be able to build freely,” Musk wrote on X.

He also posted a photoshopped image of himself carrying a sink to the White House with the line “let it sink.”

It was a reference to his joke on the day he took control of Twitter in 2022, when he threw a virtual sinkhole, signaling that he was about to cause major disruption to the company, including laying off two-thirds of its 7,000 employees.

The mass layoffs decimated Twitter’s content moderation teams and marked the beginning of Musk’s reign over the platform, leading to a rise in misinformation and hate speech and an exodus of advertisers.

Musk is expected to lead the new Department of Government Effectiveness, which aims to cut $2 trillion from the federal government’s $7 trillion budget.

He promised to bring the same “tough” management style to Washington while promising “fair and humane” transition processes for affected federal workers, including up to two years of severance pay.

“We have to significantly reduce government spending, and we have to move the people who are working into more productive roles in the private sector,” Musk said on Broadcast X hours before Trump won the vote.

His ties to the next US president have also raised questions about the potential influence on his business interests, particularly the development of Tesla’s self-driving technology.

Federal safety regulators are currently investigating Tesla’s driver-assist features after several crashes, despite Musk’s assurances that the technology is ready.

The appointment could also impact SpaceX’s relationship with NASA, where Musk’s company has become a dominant partner in space exploration.

During his victory speech, Trump praised SpaceX’s technological achievements, highlighting their recent feat of landing a launch vehicle back on the launch pad.

“He went down and down and you could see the fire burning and I said to myself it must be Elon, only Elon can do this.”

Source: AFP