The dangerous gamble: Elon Musk’s role in Trump’s America

Elon Musk, the wealthiest man on the planet, has undoubtedly played an instrumental role in the victory of Donald Trump, who not only won the White House by popular vote but also the Senate and House of Representatives with a popular mandate. Even before taking formally to the White House, Trump assigned Elon Musk with the important portfolio of “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)” for the reduction of the footprint and role of US Federal Agencies on the pretext of cutting the American budget deficit ($1.84 trillion for FY 2024). So, Elon Musk has a clear political agenda at least for the next four years in the Trump Administration, which could further expand his business empire.

Musk, who was previously known for his electric vehicle (TESLA) and Rocket (SpaceX), also has a track record of expressing his political views on Twitter; however, with the taking over of Twitter for the deal of $44 billion and rebranding it into “X”, Elon felt that X had taken a “too left” and liberal outlook. So, he immediately reinstated many banned accounts of X, including the account of Trump which got banned after the insurrection on 6 January, 2021, where supporters of Trump falsely believed in the conspiracy of a “stolen election” and took their guns to the US Congress.

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Moving fast track, Elon, along with the support of right-wing X accounts, engaged in a cultural and political war in favour of Conservatism and an anti-liberal outlook. A self-made billionaire turned into a skewed and powerful oligarch with the agenda of suppressing liberal and democratic voices, although prima facie, the sole reason for taking X was the protection of freedom of expression (First Amendment of the US Constitution). Many inside reports and assessments by independent journalists claimed that X (Twitter) has escalated the surge in disinformation, misinformation and fake news, especially for marginalised communities. Meanwhile, suppressing any critical voices from the platform that have the guts to disapprove of Elon’s point of view about the future of X, his business empire and increasing political commentary on many critical issues such as border, immigration, abortion and race.

Additionally, many key US observers’ findings demonstrate that X has played an unprecedented role in the victory of Trump where algorithms give the news and (mis)information in favour of Trump’s agenda and personality cult in his mission of “Let’s Make America Great Again”, unlike the conventional media where liberals were clearly in favour of Harris. With the narrow gap of seven swing states of the USA which were all won by Trump, the X factor cannot be taken out of consideration. Additionally, Elon also gave a financial lifeline to Trump’s road to the White House by giving $200 million in swing states, urging voters to vote for Trump.  He made such statements as “American Democracy can’t survive without Trump” and “Democrats can take your right to guns” and repeatedly endorsed Trump on many occasions. As a result, a special bond has been created between Trump and Elon which could greatly shape American politics, economy and society.

And, now, it is time for Trump to pay back Elon in an unconventional way. Already, reports are coming out that the wealth of Elon has surpassed $300 billion, which is greater than the economies of many third world countries, due to a surge in stock of Tesla. With the official portfolio of DOGE, the empire of Elon will undoubtedly be expanded in its wealth, scope and influence, which could be a source of frustration and anger for many Americans who are battling with inequality, unemployment, toxic work culture and poverty. And with the agenda of tax cuts and reduction of federal agencies from 400 to 99, there is great scope for his business empire in the upcoming Trump Administration. “A Hammer will be coming for American bureaucracy” Elon claimed in X after accepting the position as boss of DOGE.

Besides his financial and business gains from the Trump Administration, Elon also has some political agenda for world peace and politics. He aligned himself with the rhetoric of Trump for ending the fruitless war with Russia in Ukraine, and some reports clearly state that, during a call between Trump and Zelenskyy, Elon was also present, showing his unprecedented role in Trump’s presidency. Although the American military complex did not want the USA and NATO to surrender before Russian demands, which already occupied 20 per cent of Ukraine’s territory, Trump and Elon felt that the time had come to end this war. Nonetheless, at the start of the Ukraine war, Elon provided the critical support of Starlink service to Ukraine for managing its critical internet and aircraft structure against Putin’s war machine. But with the war of attrition, the failed spring offensive strategy for recovering lost territory and lost enthusiasm by the majority of Americans for continual support of Ukraine shifted the mood of Elon for supporting the cause of Ukraine.

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 Similarly, both Trump and Elon are ardent supporters and sympathisers of Israel’s genocide and Occupation of Palestine and showed an indifferent attitude towards the suffering and pain of the Palestinian people. Since the outbreak of war on 7 October, both Trump and Elon blamed Hamas and Palestinians for the war. However, both have failed to account for the historical grievance and suffering of the Palestinian people, who not just lost their lives but also their homes and identity at the hands of Israel’s war machine. “Genocide, Occupation and Apartheid” have become routine phenomena for Palestinians since the 1940s and the latest atrocities and war crimes against humanity by attacking civilians, displacing them from their homes, destroying their schools and hospitals and blocking any grain of food will not help Israel to secure itself. However, with the arrival of Trump and Elon at the White House, the gun will be headed towards Iran directly, with more economic coercion and sanctions, a perfect recipe for another 7 October in future.

At home, both Trump and Elon will seal the borders for illegal immigration, believing that illegal immigrants are alien and dangerous and involved in many heinous crimes. Elon has, many times, supported the agenda of raising the birth rate in the white race, which has been in decline in many white countries, and Trump’s agenda of abortion also aligns with Elon’s plans of increasing the birth rate of the white population as he once said that future of humanity hangs in the balance with the declining (white) birth rate of population. Conservatism, family and traditional values, white racism and rightwing will be the hallmarks of the Trump-Elon nexus on the domestic front.

Last, but not least, Elon Musk is playing a dangerous gamble by mixing science and politics for his interests. A brilliant mind like Elon who could unlock the true potential of human civilisation and mind has seemed to be busy in petty politics of interest in the age of Trumpism. Thinking about the ideas of Elon about the future of humanity on planet Mars and watching him get involved in the politics of racism and hatred is pretty tough for the writer.

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The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.