Why Musk Supports Trump

A downsized government will require AI

Elon Musk and Donald Trump make strange bedfellows, Elon is a libertarian futurist while Trump is an authoritarian conservative. Quite typically for Elon he went all in on the election, spending ~$200m to encourage voters, and gave energetic endorsements of Trump at campaign rallies. During previous elections Elon was more reserved, supporting neither presidential candidate over the other, so he must perceive some opportunity for a positive outcome from a Trump presidency.

Elon is a good chess player, every move he makes grants some immediate tactical advantage plus some longterm strategic advantage combined. A good example is the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which he intends to set up with Vivek Ramaswamy. DOGE will advise the president on how to reduce national debt through more efficient contracting, cutting the number of government agencies and overall staffing. These government reforms should produce many longterm benefits for the US economy i.e:-

Deregulation – less stringent regulations will stimulate commercial activity

“I probably spend more than half my time working regulatory issues. And I would love to be spending that time meeting with my welders and meeting with those folks building Starlinks and Starships.” ~ Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX Chief Operating Officer

Prosperity – Lower government spending should reduce taxation

“Trump wants to fully extend tax breaks enacted in 2017, including lower tax brackets, a higher standard deduction, a more generous child tax credit and other provisions.” ~ CNBC

Stability – less government spending should offset the inflationary affect of lower taxes

“Governments may reduce spending and increase taxes as a way to help reduce inflation.” ~ Investopedia

Overreach – federal bodies will be disincentivize from pursuing political agendas

“The Justice Department claims that from at least 2018 to 2022, the rocket and satellite company [SpaceX] routinely discouraged asylum recipients and refugees from applying for jobs, and refused to consider or hire them… Musk said: ‘U.S. law requires at least a green card to be hired at SpaceX, as rockets are advanced weapons technology.’” ~ Reuters

In the approaching AI age, government bureaucracy will largely become unnecessary, greatly benefiting the US once released from its burden (see xAI Benefit below). Musk’s forward leaning companies will benefit from less stringent regulation in the short term, hence a good tactical move. Plus deregulation should supercharge the US economy, which helps everyone in the longterm, hence a sound strategic move by Musk.

While many in the media bemoan Elon’s conflict of interest, he has a fiduciary duty to his companies, so obliged to put their interests first. Hence we can expect to see other moves beyond DOGE, which could benefit his companies, either directly or indirectly.

Tesla Benefit