Throughout his victory speech final Wednesday, supporters screamed Elon Musk’s identify as US President-Elect Donald Trump stood onstage at his Mar-a-Lago resort, giving his profitable speech. “A star is born – Elon!” acknowledged Trump. Amidst cheers and claps, Trump gushed in regards to the tech tycoon sitting within the viewers, saying “Solely Elon can do that. He’s a particular man. He’s a super-genius. That’s why I like you Elon.”
The identical day, Tesla’s shares rose by a whopping 15% including about $25 billion to the fortunes of Elon Musk, the legendary tech tycoon who’s the CEO of the electrical car maker. As Wall Avenue confirmed its confidence, the richest individual on earth was busy posting a cheeky collage of himself within the White Home, carrying a sink with the phrases ‘Let that sink in’, itself a play of what he’d executed when he was near finalising the deal to purchase Twitter. He grew to become not solely the richest man on the earth final Wednesday, however , extra importantly, he additionally grew to become essentially the most highly effective civilian in America.
Standing in addition to Trump
As an immigrant, Elon Musk can not stand for presidential election within the US, so he has executed the subsequent smartest thing. In July, Elon Musk publicly supported Donald Trump, bringing with him no less than $130 million in a pro-Trump marketing campaign effort and extra importantly X, a social media platform that shortly turn out to be a catchall for all Republican conservative conversations with out censorship, and proved to be extra essential and highly effective than Fox Information for this election. What he additionally introduced was his fame as a profitable businessman and time. He spent two weeks actively campaigning within the swing state of Pennsylvania, rousing younger males, and gamifying voting. The professional-Trump political group that Musk shaped, America PAC, provided registered voters in Pennsylvania $100 to signal petitions and a $1 million voter sweepstake. His lively campaigning introduced life to an growing older, scandal-ridden former president and roused the youthful technology of voters to exit in report numbers.
This audacious, dangerous manner of functioning that borders on unlawful, inconceivable or anti-regulatory is quintessential Elon Musk, the explanation the tycoon has turn out to be a cult for formidable individuals internationally. Over the past couple of a long time, Musk has disrupted finance and electrical automobiles, despatched satellites and rockets up in house, and now desires to colonize and settle Mars (He often wore a t-shirt which stated Occupy Mars throughout election campaigning). He continues to achieve success, whilst his firms are embroiled in lawsuits with federal businesses for causes starting from violations of environmental legal guidelines and client fraud to car defects to violations of labor, civil rights, office security and securities legal guidelines. He wades ahead towards all odds.
Maybe this is without doubt one of the causes that the residents of the US, particularly males of all races stood behind the Trump-Musk crew. Each males have fallen within the ring and gotten again proper up. Trump was virtually bankrupt, pivoted to turn out to be a actuality TV star, grew to become a president, grew to become a convict, misplaced an election, was shot at however stood proper again as much as present his supporters his resilience. Musk backed Trump – a dangerous transfer on the time – whereas struggling to get a flagging Tesla again on observe, was kicked out of OpenAI, and took media backlash for his aggressive purchase of Twitter (now X). This marriage of two alpha white males within the nation – each sharp businessmen who like making daring, dangerous strikes will change issues. And maybe that change is what made People vote for the duo, hoping the crew would revive their flagging financial system and streamline their authorities. As a supporter gushed on X: “Nobody can match those that have been born to win!”
And Musk’s listening. As we write this, Elon Musk’s X profile says: “The individuals voted for main authorities reform”. In the previous couple of months, he’s been very open about his formidable plans for presidency reform in DC if Trump involves energy. Trump has already introduced a “Division of Authorities Effectivity” with Musk in cost – to slash down federal spending by an formidable $2 trillion maybe by repeating the ruthless strikes he made at Twitter.
What Musk is about to realize
Tesla’s share worth will not be the one factor that may go proper for Musk, now that his pro-capitalist ally will take over the White Home for the subsequent 4 years.
Musk’s rocket firm SpaceX is already an essential contractor for NASA. Sending rockets into house for NASA is essential for SpaceX which promote further payloads on these rockets to private-sector gamers and hundreds up its Starlink satellites into low earth orbit – a enterprise alternative that may require regulatory compliance. Trump within the workplace might also additionally pushback any investigations that Musk’s enterprise may face. As the manager department controls federal regulatory our bodies, regulators may begin winding down 19 identified ongoing investigations towards Tesla, SpaceX and X.
One other hurdle that’ll in all probability be a straightforward one to go now could be in xAI which has a knowledge middle in Memphis that was the primary on the earth to attach 1,00,000 graphics processors collectively and attracted the ire of environmental regulators for its gas-powered turbines. xAI might additionally get extra vitality assets to develop its power-hungry generative AI fashions.
Then there’s Tesla in fact – which had been flagging this entire yr as cheaper Chinese language rivals gave it a run. Trump is prone to put tariffs on car imports and make these Tesla opponents unaffordable within the US. Tesla can be struggling to get its driver help know-how go via regulators, which once more is one thing that may go away with a brand new pro-technology authorities.
Most significantly, Musk can and can now sway the US authorities and the entire broad world. His mouthpiece, X, which solely a yr in the past was a flagging firm with its worth down at 20% of $44 billion in 2022, has turn out to be the highly effective media platform for Republican and conservative thought within the US. Musk used, what professor Timothy Graham at Queensland College of Know-how known as ‘consideration administration’ by retaining individuals busy with “a relentless provide of allegations, rumours, conspiracy theories and unverifiable claims”.
What’s been fascinating in to look at on this election is that each Trump and Musk made no effort to cover the nexus between enterprise, media and authorities – and all of us settle for it as one thing pure. Is it one thing that’s potential in a capitalistic authorities or is our acceptance an indication of the instances we stay in? The US 2024 election has been an enormous win for large cash politics, social media dominance and brash, outspoken alpha personalities.
As Musk stated to his followers after Trump gained the election: “You’re the media now.”
Shweta Taneja is an writer and journalist based mostly within the Bay Space.
