• Elon Musk used his money, power and influence to help re-elect former President Donald Trump.
• Now he will likely benefit from his ties to the president-elect and potentially gain a role in government.
• Trump also pledged to ease regulations, benefiting Musk and his companies.

Elon Musk’s campaign for Donald Trump It paid off – and the billionaire has a lot to gain over the next four years.

Musk has spent months strengthening his ties with Trump, using his platform on invest more than 130 million dollars in pro-Trump efforts. He even promised to pay a million dollars a day to voters in swing states who signed his petition in favor of free speech and gun rights.

Business Insider spoke with experts ahead of the election about Musk’s involvement in the campaign. Some have suggested Musk’s actions could be a risk hedging strategy to get Trump’s support if he wins. Cary Coglianese, a law professor and director of the Penn Program on Regulatory at the University of Pennsylvania, said Musk might simply see himself as capable of “taking down the federal government.”

Whatever his underlying motivations, the billionaire will likely benefit from Trump’s second term in the White House. Erik Gordon, regional director of entrepreneurial studies at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, put it simply: “The winner’s friends share the winnings.” »

Trump supported Musk’s idea of ​​a ‘Department of Government Efficiency’

Trump agreed to incorporate Musk’s proposal to establish a “Department of Government Effectiveness” led by Musk. The president-elect said this would allow for a “comprehensive financial and performance audit of the entire federal government.”

This role could give Musk influence over agencies he has long deplored, as Securities and Exchange Commissionwho investigates its acquisition in 2022 of Twitter, now called X, And sued him in 2018 over a tweet in which he claimed he had the funds to take Tesla private.

At a recent rally in Pittsburgh, Musk said he had discovered that there were 428 federal government agencies. “Why do you need 428 agencies? Why do you need 100? It’s crazy,” he said. During a town hall in Pennsylvania on October 18he suggested laying off federal employees.

Musk has previously suggested using this role to his advantage. During Tesla’s final earnings callMusk suggested that if there was a government commission on efficiency, he would help move the approval process forward state-by-state with a “federal approval process for autonomous vehicles.”

What Trump’s victory means for Musk’s business empire

Besides direct influence in government, a Trump presidency could lead to numerous victories for Musk’s business empire, which includes Tesla, EspaceX, The boring society, Neural linkand X. Many of these companies rely heavily on federal approvals, regulations, grants or contracts – and Trump has promised a lighter regulatory landscape with reduction of corporate and personal taxes.

Gordon said that, under Trump, regulators would give Musk “more freedom to develop advanced technologies.”

Regulatory leniency could be crucial for Tesla, especially as investors closely watch Musk’s commitment to gaining approval for fully autonomous vehicles in Texas and California.

Francesco Trebbi, a professor of business and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, told BI that Trump’s presidency could help SpaceX win big Department of Defense contracts. The company recently completed major advances in space travel and this type of support could help it maintain a competitive edge over rivals like Blue Origin.

Some risks ahead

Although Musk has a lot to gain over the next four years, his alignment with Trump does not come without risk – and there is no guarantee that everything will go as planned.

Trump intends to withdraw unspent funds from the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, to “quickly defeat inflation and bring down prices,” according to Karoline Leavitt, the campaign’s national press secretary. IRA offers benefits to Teslasuch as a $7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicles and tax credits for solar installations.

Coglianese said Musk is also “counting on a president who will be willing or ready to repay Musk for his loyalty.” He added, however, that it’s not always clear whether Trump’s most fervent supporters get everything they want.

He cited the example of billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who acted for Trump as an unpaid adviser during his first term. Icahn would have obtained some relief from the Environmental Protection Agency for an oil refinery he owned but ended up resigning amid criticism of potential conflicts of interest.

Joan MacLeod Heminway, a law professor at the University of Tennessee, told BI that there are “ethical rules requiring compliance” with a number of obligations, such as reporting conflicts of interest.

“Elon Musk may not want to take on these obligations,” Heminway said.