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 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 recent 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.
What he’s saying: Musk responded on X Monday evening to Trump’s comments with an image of the billionaire standing in front of a podium featuring the words “Department of Government Efficiency” and “D.O.G.E.” — an apparent reference to the cryptocurrency Dogecoin, which began as a joke that Musk has previously pumped.
“I am willing to serve,” he wrote.
The intrigue: Trump also said he was 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.”
Representatives for both Trump and Musk did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment.
Source:Axios