Donald Trump’s return to the White House could also be a victory for one of his most visible supporters: Elon Musk.
The world’s richest man spent election night in Florida with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort as returnees.
“The American people have given @realDonaldTrump a clear mandate for change tonight,” Mr. Musk wrote on social media platform X as Trump’s victory began to appear all but certain.
And in his victory speech at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Trump spent several minutes praising Mr. Musk and recounting the successful landing of a rocket produced by one of Mr. Musk’s companies, SpaceX.
Mr. Musk almost immediately supported the Republican party after Trump’s assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania in July.
One of the president-elect’s most important supporters, the tech billionaire has donated more than $119m (£92m) to fund a Super PAC aimed at re-electing Trump.
He also spent the final weeks before election day conducting electioneering efforts in battleground states, which included giving away $1 million daily to voters in those states. However, the gift-giving became the subject of a legal challenge a judge later ruled that they could proceed.
After donating his name, money and position to Trump, Musk can benefit a lot from Trump’s re-election.
The president-elect has said that in his second term, he will invite Mr. Musk into his administration to eliminate government waste.
Mr. Musk has called this potential effort the “Department of Government Effectiveness,” or DOGE, the name of a meme and cryptocurrency he popularized.
The businessman could also benefit from Trump’s presidency through his ownership of SpaceX, which currently dominates the business of sending government satellites to space.
With a close ally in the White House, Mr. Musk may seek to further leverage those government relationships.
Mr. Musk has criticized rivals, including Boeing, for their government contract structures, which he said discourage completing projects on budget and on time.
SpaceX has also moved into building spy satellites just as the Pentagon and US intelligence agencies appear ready to invest billions of dollars in them.
Meanwhile, Mr. Musk’s electric car maker Tesla could profit from an administration that Trump said would be defined by “the lowest regulatory burden.”
Just last month, the US road safety agency revealed that Exploring Tesla’s self-driving software system.
Mr. Musk was also criticized for allegedly trying to prevent Tesla workers from forming a union. The United Auto Workers filed unfair labor practice charges against both Trump and Musk after the two talked about Musk allegedly firing striking workers in a chat on X.
Trump has also pledged to lower taxes on corporations and the wealthy.
That’s another promise Mr. Musk can hope he keeps.
