How a second Trump term could further enrich Elon Musk: ‘There will be some quid pro quo’

Experts say new government could blunt regulation and appoint officials sympathetic to Musk's brood of companies

Donald Trump owes his decisive 2024 presidential victory in no small part to the enthusiastic support of the world's richest man. In the months leading up to the election, Elon Musk put his full weight behind the Maga movement, advocated for Trump on major podcasts and used his influence over X to shape political discourse. Musk's America Pac injected nearly $120m into the former president's campaign.

Now, Trump is looking to return the favor. Speaking with reporters last month, he said he would appoint Musk as secretary of cost-cutting". Musk, for his part, has joked he would be interested in serving as head of the Department of Government Efficiency" (Doge) with a stated goal of reducing government spending by $2tn. Practically speaking, experts say those cost cuts could result in deregulation and policy changes that would directly impact Musk's universe of companies, particularly Tesla, SpaceX, X and Neuralink.