Elon Musk appeared as a strong supporter throughout Donald Trump's presidential campaign. If the billionaire has taken a liking to politics, would he nevertheless be eligible in 2028?
From Silicon Valley to the White House? Elon Musk, very present throughout Donald Trump's campaign, should assert himself on the American political scene on January 20, when the Republican is inaugurated. But could the Tesla boss see further and, in turn, aim for the Oval Office?
The answer is actually very simple: Elon Musk could legally launch an election campaign in 2028 but, ultimately, he could not become president of the United States. He is actually ineligible for the position.
“citizen by birth”
The American Constitution is clear on the subject: “No one may be elected president if he is not a citizen by birth”, writes article 2. Likewise, “any person who has not reached the age of 35 and having not resided for fourteen years in the United States. However, if Elon Musk is today an American citizen, he was born in South Africa in 1971. He then studied in Canada, the country of which he is a national, then settled in the United States.
This rule has stopped many candidates hoping to reach the White House, including former bodybuilder and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Former governor of California, American citizen but born in Austria, he said that he would like to try his luck in the American presidential election, if the legislation changed.
And the Constitution can be amended: it has been amended 27 times, but the procedure remains complex. An amendment must, first, be proposed by Congress, “when two-thirds of the two houses consider it necessary” or “upon the request of the legislatures of two-thirds of the States”, specifies the law.
The amendment must then be ratified by legislatures or conventions in three-quarters of the states.
rockets and cars
In October, Elon Musk himself recalled the existence of this American law during a meeting in favor of Donald Trump: “My grandfather was American, but I was born in Africa, so I cannot be president”. And, did he want it? Not really, according to him.
“I don’t want to be president. I want to build rockets and cars. I love creating technologies that people find useful,” he added during the same gathering. Elon Musk thus prefers to focus on his existing companies, rather than embarking on a race that seems lost in advance.
According to the future president, the billionaire should nevertheless be responsible for carrying out a “complete audit” of the American administration with the aim of drastically reforming it, a challenge that he has already accepted. “I hope that we will elect President Trump, and then I will work on the efficiency of the government,” also affirmed the boss of SpaceX. That role would involve reducing what he considers “excessive federal spending.”
