In a post on social network X on August 20, billionaire Elon Musk signaled to former President Donald Trump when he wrote: “I am ready to serve.”
Mr Musk’s comments came after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he could have the billionaire join his cabinet if he is re-elected to the White House.
In an interview on August 19, when asked if he would consider having billionaire Elon Musk as an advisor or holding a cabinet position if he were elected president, Mr. Trump said he would do so.
“He’s a very smart guy. I would certainly do that, if Musk wanted to join (the cabinet), I would certainly agree,” Mr. Trump said.
A social media account has proposed naming an agency that Mr Musk could head in the US government as the “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)”. Commenting on the idea, billionaire Musk called it “the perfect name”.
Mr. Trump has praised Mr. Musk for his contributions to technology, especially in the fields of electric vehicles and space exploration.
On the evening of August 12, billionaire Elon Musk had a 2-hour live interview with Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate. The interview was broadcast live on billionaire Musk’s social networking platform X (formerly Twitter) and attracted about 1 billion views.
During the conversation, billionaire Musk clearly expressed his support and desire for Mr. Trump to win the presidency in the upcoming election. “You are the path to prosperity,” the Tesla electric car company boss told former President Trump.
With his social media influence, Mr Musk has brought the Republican candidate a huge audience at a time when Mr Trump’s campaign is at its worst point to date, and he predicts at least 100 million more people will continue to seek out content in the coming days.
The intimate conversation between the world’s richest man and the former US president also shows the benefits each person gains.
First, Mr. Musk used the conversation to discuss potential conflicts of interest between business and policy.
Mr. Musk’s companies, including SpaceX and Tesla, could all be affected by changes in government policy. Obviously, no ordinary American has the same opportunity to be heard by a future president.
At one point, Mr. Musk even offered to take a position in the U.S. government, perhaps as a member of an agency tasked with cutting bureaucracy. Mr. Trump seemed to like the idea, noting that Mr. Musk was a “wonderful cost-cutter.”
On the other hand, Mr. Trump also got a lot of benefit from his “investment” of more than two hours. Billionaire Musk did not question the former president on any of the controversial opinions he has expressed, such as predicting that 60 million undocumented immigrants would enter the United States if he lost in November.
During the conversation, Mr Musk also downplayed the threat of global warming while defending his electric car empire. For his part, Mr Trump warned of the threat of “nuclear warming,” which he said posed a greater danger than global warming.
Billionaire Musk is currently the richest person in the world with an estimated fortune of $227 billion. Recently, Mr. Musk began publicly supporting former President Trump’s re-election campaign.
