How Elon Musk's $130 million investment in Trump's victory could pay huge dividends for Tesla and the rest of his business empire

Trump spent much of his scattered victory speech thanking Musk, who has recently spent more than $130 million and a lot of time and tweets on the conservative political cause. Trump particularly praised Musk's rocket company SpaceX and its Starlink internet satellites – two businesses ripe for government contracts.

“We must protect our super geniuses,” the president-elect said. During the campaign, Trump said he would create a new “government efficiency” position for technology CEO in his administration at Musk's request.

Musk has been known to cite government overreach in the face of fines or penalties. So it's no surprise that the multi-billionaire has linked himself to Trump, who has promised to roll back regulations.

In addition to potentially looser government oversight, Musk's alliance with Trump could help him secure federal contracts. The New York Times reports that SpaceX and Tesla have already secured at least $15.4 billion in government contracts over the last decade. Musk's colleagues and government officials told it Reuters The billionaire's investment in Trump is part of a broader effort to shield his companies from regulation and secure access to government subsidies.

Below are just a few examples of how each of Musk's companies could benefit from Trump retaking the White House.

SpaceX and Starlink

Tensions are high between the Federal Aviation Administration and SpaceX. In September, Musk called for the resignation of FAA chief Michael Whitaker over $630,000 in penalties levied against SpaceX for violations related to its rocket launches. Musk has stated that his plans for a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Trump include easing regulations on his rocket launches.

Meanwhile, Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet unit, could also get a friendlier reception from the Federal Communications Commission under Trump, assuming the president taps Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr to replace current Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Carr has called the FCC's decision in 2022 to cut $885 million in subsidies for Starlink “regulatory harassment.” And Trump himself has proposed using Starlink's satellite services for rural connectivity — a potential financial boon for Starlink — as part of the administration's $42 billion plan for future broadband funding.

X

After Musk's $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, the Federal Trade Commission investigated whether X and its new owner violated an existing FTC privacy agreement with the company. After taking over the service, now called Last week, Musk promised some revenge by saying that FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan would be fired under a Trump administration. Not to mention, Trump's vice president, JD Vance, has praised Khan for his tough stance on monopolies.

xAI

Musk's generative AI startup xAI has a chatbot that competes with OpenAI's ChatGPT and other large-language models. Musk is therefore very interested in any regulation that affects AI.

So far, talks at the federal level about adopting comprehensive regulation of AI companies have not materialized. But Musk could still intervene by advising Trump on a more lenient replacement of the Biden administration's AI regulation, a framework for the use and development of AI that imposes some restrictions on AI companies.

In California, Musk supported the controversial security law SB 1047, which would have curbed large AI companies. This legislation was met with strong opposition from venture capitalists and large-scale developers, citing the potentially catastrophic risks of artificial intelligence.

Tesla

After a Tesla driver fatally struck a pedestrian, federal auto safety regulators last month slapped Tesla with a new investigation into its fully autonomous driving mode, which partially automates human driving. Musk could use his influence to shape federal auto safety enforcement or federal regulation of self-driving cars or robotaxis. It's an area close to his heart as Tesla hopes to introduce robotaxis to take on more established rivals like Alphabet's Waymo and even GM's Cruise.

Musk may also try to influence Trump over his opposition to the Biden administration's electric vehicle tax credits, which provide incentives for electric vehicle purchases.

Trump's promise to increase Biden's existing tariffs on China and other rival nations could also complicate things for Musk. Curbing imports of cheaper electric vehicles would eliminate some of Tesla's competition in the U.S., but an escalation of a trade war would also hurt technology more broadly by hurting its reliance on China and Taiwan for chips.

Whatever the case, investors are hopeful: Tesla shares rose 15% after Trump's victory speech.

Boring company

Musk's visions for high-speed transportation like the Boring Company's Hyperloop project are being stifled by regulation and the limitations of current technology. Instead, it has focused on a lower-technology version: Teslas that ferry passengers underground near the Las Vegas Convention Center. The project was subject to an OSHA workplace safety investigation. But despite the high costs, complicated infrastructure and unsafe conditions, Musk insists that government regulation is to blame for the failure of tunnel projects in some other US cities. In any case, it might be easier for Boring to win large infrastructure projects if he has allies in the US government.

Neuralink

As the founder of brain chip company Neuralink, Musk criticized the Food and Drug Administration's lengthy approval processes for new drugs and medical devices, claiming at a rally in Pennsylvania that “overregulation kills people.” It was later reported that the cancer drug Musk was referring to was actually approved. Still, Musk's vision of comprehensive “government efficiency” would likely also target the FDA and potentially win faster approvals for Neuralink. To date, FDA-approved Neuralink has implanted brain devices in two patients.

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