Former President Trump may tap Tesla CEO Elon Musk for a role in his administration if he’s re-elected in November, he told Reuters in an interview Monday.
The big picture: The pair have forged an alliance and the former president has for months reportedly been weighing a possible role for Musk — one of the richest people on the planet who controls of one of the world’s biggest social media platforms and has endorsed him in the presidential race.
But Musk’s embrace of Trump is poised to have a determinative effect on the Tesla, SpaceX and X boss’ empire, Axios’ Nathan Bomey reports.
Zoom in: If there were to be a second Trump administration, the Republican presidential nominee said he’d pick Musk for a cabinet or advisory role “if he would do it,” according to Reuters.
Musk during his interview with Trump proposed establishing a “government efficiency commission” to oversee spending and reduce waste, and said he would like to serve on such a board.
Representatives for both Trump and Musk did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment.
The intrigue: Trump also said he’d considering nixing Biden’s $7,500 federal subsidies for buying electric vehicles — which could hurt sales for the Tesla CEO.
“Tax credits and tax incentives are not generally a very good thing,” Trump told Reuters when asked about the EV credit.
“I’m not making any final decisions on it,” he added. “I’m a big fan of electric cars, but I’m a fan of gasoline-propelled cars, and also hybrids and whatever else happens to come along.”
Former President Trump and Elon Musk have begun speaking on the phone several times a month, including about a potential advisory role for the Tesla CEO in a second Trump administration, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Why it matters: Musk has become one of President Biden’s most prominent online critics, leveraging his massive X platform to attack Democrats and promote Trump’s messaging on the 2024 election’s top issues.
