Musk's budget veto power could extend to auto and space regulations

Catch up quick: Musk on Wednesday played a central role in scuttling a bipartisan House spending bill meant to avoid a government shutdown.

• Axios' Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen called it "a breathtaking preview of the new power centers that will rewire Washington."
• The move came after Trump already appointed Musk to jointly lead the informal Department of Government Efficiency, which is promising to slash federal spending and regulations.

The big picture: The reality that Musk is capable of turning his political influence into action suggests that investors have been right to believe that his companies will benefit from a Trump administration and Republican Congress.

• Musk's net worth has climbed by nearly $200 billion since Election Day to $458 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

What to watch for: His influence could play out in a variety of ways:

• Tesla — and other autonomous vehicle companies — would benefit from a national regulatory framework for self-driving cars, rather than the patchwork of rules that currently exists.
• SpaceX would benefit from a continued flow — or perhaps even an increase — in federal funding for its interstellar endeavors.

• xAI, Musk's increasingly valuable startup, could be affected by any Congressional action — or, perhaps more significantly, inaction — on AI regulation.

The intrigue: On a personal level, Musk is mired in another stare-down with the Securities and Exchange Commission — this time over his handling of his Twitter acquisition — which will get new leadership under Trump.

• Musk's attorney also claimed last week in a letter that the agency has "reopened" a probe into Neuralink, Musk's neurotechnology startup.

The bottom line: After Musk wielded a cudgel with the federal budget, there's no reason to believe he won't deploy a pencil and eraser to federal regulations.