Trump wants to hire Elon Musk — and possibly cut Tesla's key tax credit
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Elon Musk on June 19 in Cannes, France. Photo: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images
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.
More from Axios:
- How Elon Musk's empire changes with a second Trump term
- Lengthy glitch disrupts Elon Musk's "conversation" with Trump
- Elon Musk's unanswered energy plea to Trump
Editor's note: This article has been updated with details of Elon Musk's post.
