What does Elon Musk really want from a Trump presidency?

On this week’s episode of Decoder, we’re talking about Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and Tesla — and I have to say, it feels like the first of many episodes about these three characters that we’ll be doing over the course of the next four years.

Musk’s efforts to get Trump elected president in 2024 will go down in history as the ultimate money-in-politics story. He dumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the race, used his platform X to relentlessly promote Trump, and promised to run a government efficiency commission that would radically reshape how America operates if any of his ideas get put into action. 

Since the election, Musk has been deep in the mix planning Trump’s second term: he reportedly spent time at Mar-a-Lago, weighing in on cabinet appointments and even hopping on the phone with world leaders like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He also attended Trump’s first postelection meeting with House Republicans in Washington, DC, this week. 

Then, on Tuesday, Trump announced that Elon would co-lead the new Department of Government Efficiency with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Yes, the acronym is DOGE. Yes, the efficiency initiative has redundant leadership. And to be clear: this is not a real department or government agency — only Congress can create those. But it looks like Elon’s ambitions to “dismantle federal bureaucracy” with severe budget cuts and layoffs have landed him a real advisory job and a direct line to Trump.  

But there’s one big problem in all of this: Elon’s money all comes from Tesla, and in particular, Tesla’s enormously overvalued stock price. Tesla is already the leading seller of EVs in America, but to keep things going, Musk has to sell more electric cars and also deliver on the promise of those cars becoming self-driving robotaxis. The problem is that Trump turned EVs and the EV transition into a political nightmare during the election — not to mention climate change overall, which Trump has resolutely denied. 

So how is the CEO of an electric car company, an outspoken advocate for combating climate change, going to square his support for Trump and a Republican policy agenda centered on climate change denial? Can Musk convince Trump to pump the brakes on gutting climate regulations and the EV transition, or is he just looking to spare Tesla as best he can and give it an edge over the competition? 

I invited Andy Hawkins, Verge transportation editor and resident Elon Musk expert, on the show to make sense of what could happen next. And it couldn’t be a more critical moment for the auto industry, which has been trying to transition to EVs and taking in billions in incentives and funding from the Biden administration to speed up the process. 

A Trump agenda dead set on slowing EV adoption could be a disaster not just for Tesla but also for every other US automaker, too. Throw in Trump’s controversial tariff plan, and well… you have a political and economic mess of unprecedented proportions that could shape the auto industry in America for years to come.

If you’d like to read more and keep up with the fast-moving Musk-Trump news cycle, here are some stories we discussed:

• What does Trump’s election mean for EVs, Tesla, and Elon Musk? | The Verge
• This election will decide what kind of car you’ll buy | The Verge
• Trump says Musk will lead ‘DOGE’ office to cut ‘wasteful’ government spending | The Verge
• Elon Musk attends Trump’s first postelection meeting with House Republicans | CNBC
• At Mar-a-Lago, ‘Uncle’ Elon Musk puts his imprint on the Trump transition | NYT
• Musk believes in global warming. Trump doesn’t. Will that change? | NYT
• Elon Musk helped elect Trump? What does he expect in return? | NYT
• With ready orders and an energy czar, Trump plots pivot to fossil fuels | NYT
• Tesla hits $1 trillion market value as Musk-backed Trump win fans optimism | Reuters
• Trump’s return dims outlook for Chinese EV makers amid tariff threats | SCMP