«If Trump loses, I'm screwed.» Faced with Tucker Carlson, former Fox News presenter, Elon Musk said he was terrified by a victory for Kamala Harris, boasting of being “thrown in prison» if Donald Trump does not win. In a few months, after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and the withdrawal of Ron DeSantis, the billionaire has established himself as the most fervent support of the Republican candidate, with a total addition that exceeds 132 million dollars. Since last summer, Elon Musk has put his financial and media weight at the service of the former president's campaign, going so far as to promise to offer a million dollars per day to a voter drawn at random on the condition of signing a pro-Trump petition and to be registered on the electoral lists of one of the seven American pivotal states. This controversial lottery – the American federal justice system reminded him of the illegality of its action, compared to the purchase of voters – “shows how far Musk is willing to go to boost Donald Trump's campaign», recently underlined the New York Times.
In addition to watering Trump's campaign via the Super PAC “America” which he himself created last spring, the boss of Tesla and SpaceX would provide a lot of advice to his favorite candidate, calling him several times a week, according to the American press. Through his social network
Eminently strategic support for the Musk galaxy
Romain Huret, historian of the United States and author of Anatomy of a Democracy (Les Arènes, 2024) suggests that this is the first time that a businessman is so active in an electoral campaign. “Historically, bosses have always wanted to influence policies in order to defend their interests, but always discreetly so as not to risk a boycott.“, he says. Therefore, the 132 million question is: why? The Trumpist rallying of the richest man – and the most libertarian – cannot be explained solely by ideological affinities. Musk, once a supporter of Obama's liberal policies and opposed to the climate-skeptical theories of the Trumpist clan, would have eminent strategic interests in a Republican victory. We saw the beginnings of this in the astonishing turnaround of Donald Trump who suddenly began to favor electric cars just after Musk joined him, while he promised, before that, to put an end to the bonus of $7,500 intended to encourage households to buy a clean car.
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But above all, Donald Trump has committed to appointing the businessman to head a “commission on government efficiency” which would have the capacity to influence certain regulations and organize various budget cuts in federal agencies, according to the wishes of the Republican candidate, despite the blatant risks of conflict of interest. Because the billionaire would then have plenty of time to lift the procedures against his companies by drying up the agencies that are a little too careful about his activities.
The journalist at New York Times Ryan Mac has in fact identified around twenty investigations opened by different American administrations which target the companies of the Musk empire, in particular on the environmental damage caused by his rockets. The businessman has often expressed his contempt for these agencies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which imposes restrictions to minimize environmental impacts around SpaceX launch sites. Musk also criticized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for withdrawing an $886 million grant intended for his Starlink project, a constellation of satellites to connect rural areas.
A key player that a Harris government could not ignore
Without counting on the action it could have vis-à-vis its competitors. Musk has already raised the possibility of terminating NASA's contract with Boeing, its main space competitor, saying that the United States “do not need another capsule» for lunar missions.
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In an investigation into the relations between the businessman and the American federal state, the New York Times reveals juicy contracts, such as the one linking the space nugget SpaceX to NASA or Defense for 15 billion dollars, or the one creating numerous connections between Tesla, Musk's automobile company, with the agencies of Commerce, Agriculture, Transport, Energy, or Internal Security. In total, last year alone, no fewer than 17 federal entities signed with Elon Musk's companies, for $3 billion.
«Given Mr. Musk's immense business footprint, he will be a major player regardless of who wins the election», notes the New York Timeseven if a victorious Trump could ensure even greater endowments. For journalist Ryan Mac, “whatever the outcome of the election, everything will probably be fine for Elon Musk. Its companies are so essential – both SpaceX, which NASA can no longer do without, as well as Tesla, one of the leaders in electric vehicles – that it will remain a major player that no American government will be able to ignore.».
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