Elon Musk's role at the heart of the US government has been criticized for its potential to benefit the world's wealthiest people while hurting competitors.
Six Musk companies have already profited from around $200 billion in government contracts. This claimed that billionaires were all winning on merits and offering value for money – and some subsidies are being offered.
But Musk, who has donated more than $250 million to Donald Trump's 2024 reelection campaign, has now led a cost-cutting drive across the government sector, including those that investigated or fined his company Tesla and SpaceX. It's there.
Here's how his company will build fares in the new administration:
x
Musk is famous for admitting Twitter overpayment after purchasing a social media platform known as X for $44 billion in 2022. .
The full frontal attack on federal officials by the so-called Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Musk is partially unfolding in X. The key moves by the Trump administration have been reported on the site, and the mask is also used to oppose his critics.
X's finances have improved, once so bad that Mask had the idea of filing for bankruptcy. Last week, billions of dollars in debt associated with the purchase were finally sold at near face value. This is a great relief for the banks that funded the acquisition and wrote down the loan.
The platform is also under investigation by the EU regarding the spread of suspicious disinformation. There are no indications that Brussels will retreat, but the White House shows that NATO support could be conditional on Europe to curb US technology regulations.
Tesla
The electric car and battery maker is at the heart of the mask empire and is the source of $150 billion in his personal wealth. That could be hurt by Trump's aggressive reversal of the government's commitment to less carbon-intensive transport.
Over the years, Tesla has received more than $2.8 billion in state and federal grants, earning $2.8 billion last year (two-fifths of $202.4 billion in net profit).
Trump has already cancelled former President Joe Biden's target and says that half of the new US vehicles sold by 2030 should be battery-powered. Trump also shows that the $7,500 worth of federal EV tax credits could be worth $7,500, and the emissions credit scheme could also be x.
Musk dismissed the potential impact on Tesla, saying that electrification of transportation is inevitable and that removing subsidies would further harm less profitable EV rivals.
But Trump's hostility towards EVs comes at a bad time. The Model Y is a bestseller car of all kinds, but sales have softened, and Tesla reported its first annual decline in EV sales in 2024 in over a decade. This was particularly pronounced in Europe, with analysts denounced Musk's distant sponsors. – The right politics of Germany and Britain.
Another issue is the trade war between Trump and China, Tesla's second largest market and the largest “Giga Factory” location, where masks are regulated for training autonomous driving auto software. It's asking for approval.
“The strategic direction isn't the best for Tesla, it's driven by Elon's ego,” said longtime shareholder and critic Ross Gerber. “The transition to politics is a problem because we don't sell cars.”
SpaceX
A $350 million startup has become a mask In fact The operator of the US Space Program, will win billions of dollars worth of government contracts and build the largest reusable rocket in history to fulfill the owner's ambitions to colonize Mars.
Trump has received special praise from the company, calling Musk a “super genius” in his victory speech and praises SpaceX's historic technical feat. Catch a giant spaceship rocket booster using the “Scadilla” robot arm.
NASA administrator presidential election high-tech billionaire Jared Isaacman has a close relationship with Musk and leads two SpaceX missions. The sponsorship of Trump and Isaac Man will broaden SpaceX's advantages over rivals such as Boeing and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origins.
Musk's role in the Doge Cutting Government Red Tape could also be useful for skirmishes between the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Labor Relations Commission, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
SpaceX's workload could increase even further if Trump succeeds in commissioning the most ambitious missile shield in US history. Now, this is the only space company with the ability to ensure that hundreds of new satellites are in orbit with short notice.
starlink
Within SpaceX is Starlink, a network of over 7,000 low-orbit satellites aimed at disrupting fiber-optic-based global broadband systems.
This ambition, which initially targeted remote rural areas, passenger aircraft and cruise ships, increased as technology advanced. Its use has become geopolitical controversial in Russia's war with Ukraine and in Taiwan.
Under Biden, Starlink is facing pushbacks from US officials such as the Federal Communications Commission, delaying applications to increase the number of satellites to nearly 30,000, to provide rural broadband in 2022. cancelled a nearly $900 million deal.
However, musk shaking within the Trump administration had a negative impact on Starlink. This month, Canada's most populous leader in Ontario said his government would “rip” contracts with broadband providers in retaliation for Trump's threat of Canada hitting tariffs.
Starlink was temporarily banned in Brazil after Musk got caught up in X's misinformation and censorship after intervening in support of the right-wing cause in the country.
xai
The Trump administration pledged to solidify US control over artificial intelligence, and quickly abolished the Biden order and established safety and security standards for the new industry.
This friendly attitude, along with the appointment of David Sachs, Musk's ally close to Trump's Ai Tsar, will benefit the billionaire entrepreneur, two-year-old startup Xai.
But it also gives power to some of his most intense enemies, including Openai.
Musk, who co-founded the creator of Sam Altman and ChatGpt, has since turned on the company and has filed multiple lawsuits against it. On Monday, Musk made a bold acquisition offer to stop Openai from restructuring into a for-profit company.
Altman said he was “very un-American to use his political power to hurt your competitors,” and Musk promised he wouldn't, but the vicinity to Trump is open. shook the
Musk is also aiming to be one of the White House's early signing AI policy moves, raising questions about the funding behind the Trump-backed $500 million infrastructure project with Openai and Japan's Softbank It's there.
Neuralink/Boying Company
Last year, Musk's brain implant company Neuralink managed to implant electrodes into the human brain for the first time, allowing recipients to operate phones and computers with their own thoughts.
Although the US has closely regulated clinical trials, there is no indication that the Food and Drug Administration is planning to ease monitoring of Neuralink activities. The company is also recruiting patients in Canada and could suffer if the trade war with the US escalates.
The boring company specializing in building underground tunnels to reduce crowds is moving forward with projects in Las Vegas and California. However, other committees fell after local opposition. Since Trump's victory, CEO Steve Davis has been seconded to Doge, who oversees Musk's attacks on government spending.
Mask did not respond to requests for comment. The White House says he will “excuse himself” from Doge's work related to his business contract.
