If Donald Trump largely won the American presidential election, billionaire Elon Musk, who had bet everything on him, appears to be the other big winner of the vote.
The richest man in the world threw himself headlong into the ex-president's campaign in the last few weeks, accompanying him to rallies and even going on stage to defend him, notably in Pennsylvania.
He also invested more than 100 million dollars in the campaign of the new president-elect, and did not hesitate to use his social network, X (formerly Twitter), as a sounding board for Donald Trump's messages, on the immigration in particular.
His support committee even organized a lottery offering a million dollars daily to registered voters in key states who agreed to sign a conservative petition in favor of freedom of expression and the right to bear arms.
Elon Musk's risky bet immediately bore fruit, with the rise on Wednesday in the shares of his company Tesla, which brought him $15 billion in the morning, according to Forbes.
The boss of the electric car manufacturer should also be rewarded with a position in the future government. The president-elect could charge him with profoundly reorganizing the federal administration, using his aggressive approach to his affairs.
The closeness between the two men is widely portrayed on both sides. Mr. Musk posted a photo on X showing him with Donald Trump during election night in Florida, when the latter paid tribute to him in his victory speech, calling him a “super genius”.
– Ministry of Government Effectiveness –
It remains to be seen how the two characters, colorful and often moody, who barely knew each other a few months ago, will succeed in working together.
For some, their relationship is doomed to failure, due to their respective egos. Others believe, on the contrary, that Mr. Trump respects the fortune and success of the billionaire born in South Africa.
“The United States is a nation of builders. Soon you will be free to build,” Elon Musk promised on X, with a retouched image showing him carrying a sink to the White House, a nod to his arrival in the premises of the social network after having bought it in 2022.
He showed up at Twitter headquarters with a sink in his hands to symbolize his determination to radically transform the company. As soon as the acquisition was concluded, he fired the management team, then thousands of employees.
Elon Musk is expected to take the helm of a new ministry of “Government Effectiveness”, whose primary objective will be to reduce the federal budget by $2,000 billion, currently at $7,000 billion.
– Possible conflicts of interest –
He assured that he wanted to import to Washington the same “hard-line” approach as in his companies, while promising “humane and fair” treatment to the federal employees who would be affected, including severance pay amounting to two years of salary.
“We need to make significant reductions in public spending and we need to get people to work in more productive positions in the private sector,” justified Elon Musk, still on X, a few hours before Mr. Trump's victory.
His proximity to the next president, however, raises the risk of possible conflicts for his companies, particularly concerning the autonomous driving technology developed by Tesla.
Regulators are currently investigating the feature after several road accidents involving Teslas, despite its assurances that the technology is ready.
His appointment in a Trump government could also have an impact on SpaceX's activity and its relations with NASA, for which his company has become an essential partner.
During his victory speech, Donald Trump touted SpaceX's technical achievements, in particular the spectacular October catch-up of the first stage of its Starship megarocket during a test flight, which paved the way for the possible reuse of this launcher heavy.
“He was going down and down, we could see the fire burning and I said to myself: 'It must be Elon's (the rocket), only Elon can do that',” assured the president-elect.
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