Two years ago we had Elon Musk (52) and Donald Trump (77) publicly exchanged all sorts of unkindness. But the closer the US presidential election on November 5th gets, the closer the multi-billionaire and serial entrepreneur gets back to Donald Trump: Over the past few months, Musk has not only been a guest at various discreet meetings of Trump supporters, but has also met Trump personally discussed a possible advisory role after the US election over breakfast in Palm Beach. This reports the Wall Street Journal
citing several insiders and people who were at the meeting in the villa of billionaire Nelson Peltz (81) in March.
At the meeting in a family atmosphere, Musk and Peltz also presented the former US President with plans for a data-based project to prevent election fraud. Such a project pays off the legend that Trump and his fans have repeatedly used that his office was “stolen” from him in the 2020 election by fraudulent ballot papers. The accusation has never been substantiated, but the Trump camp keeps the conspiracy theory alive. Peltz and Musk also explained their plans to network with influential business leaders in the coming months in order to prevent US President Joe Biden (81) from being re-elected. Musk and Trump exchanged cell phone numbers.
Musk has already broken away from the Democratic Party, calling it a “party of division and hate.” Musk has described efforts for more diversity, fair income distribution or inclusion programs as a “woke mind virus” and announced that he would support the Republican Party in the coming elections. This announcement is now becoming concrete: Musk not only sought direct exchange with Trump at the meeting in Peltz’s luxury villa, but was also one of the hosts in April when numerous business leaders met in Los Angeles at the property of Musk’s former PayPal buddy David Sacks ( 52) came together.
Plans to support Trump financially
According to the WSJ, the meeting was about how Trump could be supported financially in a comparatively discreet manner. In addition to Musk and Sacks, the investor was also among the participants Peter Thiel (56), the former Treasury Secretary and investor Steven Mnuchin (61) and media mogul Rupert Murdoch (93). Sacks will soon host a larger fundraising gala for Trump in San Francisco, while Musk and Peltz want to focus on “salon-style” meetings in back rooms away from the public, according to the report.
It is not yet clear what Musk’s possible advisory role might look like. Musk was part of Trump’s economic advisory team for a few months during Trump’s first term in office, but gave up this position in 2017. Trump’s advisors at the time also included billionaire Carl Icahn (88), who fueled Trump’s course of dismantling regulations and was involved in filling top positions at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
As head of the electric car manufacturer Tesla, owner of the social media platform X and the private space company SpaceXMusk has a lot of need to talk to the future president of the USA. If Trump is elected, Musk could secure lucrative contracts for SpaceX – ensuring US supremacy through space technology is one of Trump’s political priorities.
Tesla, SpaceX, X: What Musk hopes for from Trump
Things get more difficult when it comes to the topic Electromobility, which views Trump critically. Musk recently spoke out against tariffs on Chinese electric car imports because of a trade war between China and Tesla would also hurt the USA. In the past, Tesla has benefited greatly from government support for electromobility: Now that many electric car subsidies have expired, Tesla, like its competitors, is suffering from sales problems. Tax benefits would be a possible lever to support Tesla in the current situation. According to the WSJ, Musk and Trump have already discussed the topic of taxes.
The situation is also tricky when it comes to social media: Musk allowed Trump back on the platform immediately after taking over X (formerly Twitter), but the ex-president is holding back from posting on X. With good reason: After the Twitter ban was imposed, Trump launched his own mouthpiece, “Truth Social,” which, although it plays no role publicly, is protected as the heart of his listed company, “Trump Media and Technology Group” (TMTG). must.
However, whether Trump will return to X after a possible re-election is only a marginal aspect for Musk. The busy billionaire prefers to rely on personal networks rather than millions in donations when cozying up to Trump. If Musk’s bet pays off, it probably won’t be bad for SpaceX or Tesla.