Donald Trump and Elon Musk couldn't stand each other for a long time. But now the two seem to be getting closer. Musk supports Trump's election campaign efforts – and Trump even wants to bring him into the White House.
It hasn't been two years since Donald Trump and Elon Musk were publicly at loggerheads – but now they apparently want to work closely together. Trump is apparently planning to make Musk his advisor after his re-election. The Tesla founder's shift to the right is likely to be behind the new closeness. But there are also clear economic interests.
This is the result of a detailed report by the Wall Street Journal about the relationship between the two. Trump and Musk are discussing how to expand the influence of the richest person in the world on US politics. The main focus is on economic issues and border security. Musk has shown a clear interest in these two areas in recent months.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk talk on the phone regularly
The two topics are said to dominate the recent frequent conversations between the two. According to insiders, Musk and Trump have met in person and sometimes speak on the phone several times a month, reports the “WSJ”. Musk calls Trump's personal cell phone directly.
However, according to the sources, the suggestion to formally give Musk more influence comes from Trump. The former president was impressed by Musk's wealth and would like to bring him into politics in a more active role after a possible re-election, he said.
So far, however, it seems to be more abstract expressions of willingness than concrete plans. Musk is apparently to act as an advisor, but in what capacity and in which areas is still just as unclear as the question of whether Musk is even genuinely interested in such a role. The Tesla boss was already part of an advisory committee to the Trump administration in 2017, but left again due to disagreements.
Public quarrel
The two had publicly quarreled as recently as the summer of 2022. Trump had called Musk a “bullshit artist,” and Musk had publicly wished that Trump would “ride off into the sunset.” Just a year ago, Trump accused the X boss of censoring conservatives and wanting to “make friends with the absolutely terrible Biden administration.”
The fact that the two are getting closer also has to do with Musk's ideological shift. The X boss had previously described himself as moderate, but has since made a hard shift to the right-wing camp. Recently, he has repeatedly attacked the Biden administration's supposedly lax immigration policy and the left-wing woke bubble and shares conservative, right-wing and sometimes even anti-Semitic conspiracy myths (read more here).
Musk as advisor
Despite countless attacks against the left wing and the Biden administration, Musk has so far avoided publicly advocating for Trump's election. Behind the scenes, however, things appear to be completely different. Musk does not want to limit himself to monetary donations, according to the “WSJ”.
The idea of an advisory role is said to have first emerged at a meeting between the two at the estate of investor Nelson Peltz in March. According to insiders, Peltz and Musk have been working for some time to persuade influential donors in small groups to support the Republicans in order to prevent Biden's re-election. Since the meeting at Peltz's, Musk and Trump are said to have maintained very regular contact.
Economic interests
In addition to his ideological convictions, Musk is also likely to be driven by hard-nosed financial interests. In addition to immigration policy, the two men would primarily discuss technology such as space research and e-mobility – both fields in which Musk is successfully active with Tesla and SpaceX.
In the past, Trump had spoken out strongly in favor of another space race and even created a separate subdivision of the US armed forces, the Space Force. If the US government were to rely more on SpaceX, it would be a gigantic deal for Musk's company.
Not in agreement on everything
In some other areas, however, the interests of the two are at odds. According to the report, Musk is trying to get Trump to use his short message service X again. Before the service, then known as Twitter, blocked the former president, he had almost 90 million followers and a much larger reach. Trump's habit of spontaneously announcing decisions on Twitter had given the service a huge boost in relevance. Since Musk unblocked it last summer, however, Trump has only made a single post. Instead, he continued to use his own platform, Truth Social.
Musk probably had a shock this week when it came to electric mobility. “You won't be able to sell these cars anymore,” several US media outlets quoted a campaign speech – and suggested a possible ban on new electric cars. In fact, Trump's plans are more likely to help Musk: Trump was actually talking about cars made by Chinese manufacturers in Mexico – Musk's competition.
Sources: Wall Street Journal, New York Times,
