Now that Donald Trump has won the White House, the American oligarchs who helped facilitate his return to power are waiting with open hands for payoff. Elon Musk is already getting his.
The billionaire owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter) poured millions into Trump’s reelection effort, campaigned on his behalf, and can barely contain his glee upon victory. Musk, whose companies operate largely off of billion-dollar government contracts and partnerships, is not only expecting an astronomical financial windfall under the pro-corporate policies of a second Trump administration, but a government position directly shaping the reforms planned by the president-elect.
Trump has publicly touted plans to appoint Musk the head of a “government efficiency commission” tasked with slashing wasteful spending, but Musk’s role may extend far beyond the fiscal budget.
According to a Friday report from Axios, Musk sat in on a Wednesday phone call between Trump and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The president-elect has made a dubious promise that he can end the war between Russia and Ukraine in a day, and has decried the continued provision of funds and aid to Ukraine’s military operations by the U.S.