“If Trump loses, I’m screwed. » In a usual mixture of provocation, paranoia and candor, Elon Musk thus summed up his situation, a few weeks before the American presidential election. The sentence, broadcast Monday October 7 in an interview with former Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson, illustrates a new situation. Since its takeover in October 2022 by the industrialist, the social network Twitter has changed a lot – even its name, which is now he openly supports Donald Trump.
His account on Musk also rehashes every day a conspiracy theory claiming that Democrats “import” illegal immigrants in key voting states to manipulate elections. Yet another and unusual step: the boss appeared alongside Mr. Trump at a meeting on October 5.
In a few months, he seems to have partly linked his fate, and the future of his businesses, to the results of the presidential election. If Donald Trump is elected, he could enjoy increased power. He will lead a commission on government effectivenesspromised the Republican candidate. This “genius” “will advise” also the White House on artificial intelligence, anticipated Mr. Trumpdefending a line rather opposed to the regulation of this technology, in order to assert American power against China.
“A unique position”
Mr. Musk will also be able to count on a maintenance or increase in public orders for his rocket company SpaceX and, from now on, on a benevolent policy towards Tesla. At the beginning of September, the candidate, historically very critical of electric vehicles, stated be “for electric vehicles”. “I have to be, because Elon supports me very strongly. So I have no choice.”, he added. Its re-election would put Elon Musk in “an unprecedented position: that of the first American oligarch”, writes the magazine Politico.
Conversely, an election of Kamala Harris would be more perilous, given her scorched earth policy. “I can’t stop ruining it”Mr. Musk had fun facing Mr. Carlson, asking himself to “how many years in prison” he would suffer. Certainly, reducing public orders for SpaceX, today an indispensable partner of NASA, seems difficult. And Kamala Harris’ program contains aid for electric vehicles, from which Tesla already benefits, despite tensions with President Biden at the start of his mandate.
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