Elon Musk's 'Donald Trump Gamble'

In the final weeks of the US presidential campaign, billionaire Elon Musk - the world's richest man - has thrown his full support behind former US President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate.

Billionaire Elon Musk has bet on Mr Trump winning the 2024 US presidential election - Photo: FT/getty images

Of the many bold gambles that have shaped Elon Musk's career so far, few have been more reckless than his support for Donald Trump, the Financial Times (FT) commented in an article on October 18.

All in

Musk's support for Trump has grown stronger in the run-up to the election. Two weeks ago, Musk was seen jumping on stage at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump was assassinated in July. Musk has also made extensive use of his social media platform X to spread his support for the Republican candidate. This week, the Tesla and SpaceX boss is holding a five-night campaign for Trump in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, which he believes could be key to the former president's re-election. Musk is also a top donor, having donated at least $75 million to the pro- Trump super PAC America Pac, according to a recent report. Musk has also publicly criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, calling on people to vote for Trump because it is "the only way to save democracy." According to Politico, Musk had previously supported Democratic candidates, but in 2022, he announced that he would start voting Republican because the Democratic Party was now a party of "division and hate," without elaborating. The tech mogul later said his support changed because of "unprovoked attacks on him by Democratic leaders and the cold shoulder to Tesla and SpaceX."

What does Elon Musk get?

Elon Musk appears to have bet that if Trump wins, he will have significant influence over how the government treats his companies. From satellites to electric cars to Neuralink brain chips to AI robots, Musk owns a series of businesses that rely heavily on contracts and rules set by the US government. At a Trump event on October 17, Musk said the biggest reason he supported the former president was the need for "reasonable regulations". "SpaceX can build a giant rocket faster than the government can process permits. That's crazy. If the trend of strangulation by excessive regulation doesn't change, we'll never reach Mars," he said. Although SpaceX has also won lucrative contracts worth billions of dollars under President Joe Biden, the company has repeatedly fought with federal and state agencies. Mr Musk has accused these agencies of stifling innovation through bureaucracy and regulation. A Trump victory could mean more contracts for SpaceX and its Starlink satellites in the US security system, Tesla could win over Republicans in favour of electric cars, or it could limit safety investigations into its self-driving technology. Mr Musk also believes that with Mr Trump, social network X would be less likely to clash with the government over “free speech”, according to the FT. Mr Trump has even said that if elected, he would appoint billionaire Elon Musk as his secretary of cost-cutting. This could give Mr Musk influence in changing regulatory policies that could affect his companies. However, some argue that Mr Musk is only getting involved in politics for personal rather than commercial reasons. The FT quoted Mr. Trevor Traina - a donor to Mr. Trump and former US ambassador to Austria under Mr. Trump: "As the richest man in the world, Mr. Elon (Musk) doesn't need anything. He's just participating." Billionaire Musk also affirmed that he only acted because he was worried about the country. "I got into politics because I think the future of America and the future of civilization is at stake," he said at the event on October 17.

Billionaires back Ms. Harris

On the same day that Elon Musk held an event supporting Trump, billionaire Mark Cuban also appeared at Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign in Wisconsin, where he criticized Trump's proposed tariffs. In the past, Ms. Harris has also received support from other technology billionaires and venture capital funds such as LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla, Apple co-founder Stephen Wozniak, venture capitalists Chris Sacca, Ron Conway, etc.

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/canh-bac-donald-trump-cua-elon-musk-20241019230112213.htm