Elon Musk, who is the owner of social media platform X, has backed the former US president Donal Trump’s campaign.
Former US President Donald Trump, on Monday, asserted that he would consider appointing Tesla CEO Elon Musk to his Cabinet in case he wins the November US Presidential election. “He’s a very smart guy. I certainly would, if he would do it. He’s a brilliant guy,” Trump told news agency Reuters.
Interestingly, the tech billionaire was quick to respond on social media, and added that
he was “willing to serve.” He even shared an AI-generated picture of himself with a “Department of Government Efficiency” plaque as he stood on a speaking podium. Check it out here:
I am willing to serve pic.twitter.com/BJhGbcA2e0
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2024
Meanwhile, during the interview with Reuters, Trump even hinted how he might reverse the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle purchases – something that Joe Biden administration had in its agenda as part of its climate change agenda.
Not to miss, Musk, who is also the owner of social media platform X, has time and again supported a super PAC, and endorsed the former US president Donald Trump’s campaign. In fact, it was last week that Trump and Musk held a two-hour discussion on X. At that time, Musk shared how he was willing to join a government commission that is focused on studying the national debt and altering Congressional spending.
For those caught unaware, it was last month that Musk publicly endorsed Trump in the US presidential race, soon after the assassination attempt on Trump. He had said at the time, “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.”
On the other hand, the former president has hinted at taking steps to reverse Treasury Department rules, which let automakers take advantage of the $7,500 credit and aided companies like Tesla. Despite that, Musk has been in support of Trump while the latter might seek to repeal the EV tax credit.
Talking about it, Trump said, “I’m not making any final decisions on it,” adding, “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.” He even made claims to nullify any Biden administration rules that prodded automakers to build more EVs and plug-in hybrids since he sees a “much smaller market” for EVs due to cost and battery range issues.
Meanwhile, Trump also said that he aims to discourage exports of vehicles produced by the Detroit Three automakers and others from Mexico. He would do so by imposing new tariffs, and would now like to have Chinese automakers build new plants in Mexico for U.S. market vehicles.
“If you put tariffs on those cars, they’re going to make it here” Donald Trump said, adding “It’s very simple. It’s not complicated. If you tell Mexico, ‘look, you’re stealing our car industry,’ which they’re doing now.”
Nonetheless, he remains open to having Chinese and other automakers build vehicles in the United States. “We’re going to give incentives, and if China and other countries want to come here and sell the cars, they’re going to build plants here, and they’re going to hire our workers,” he said, adding, “We will make our own cars. I want to make our own cars.”
As of Musk, he is the richest person in the world with a net worth of $248.6 billion.
.webp)
