Elon Musk: Rocket Man Takes Aim at Washington

AFP/APP

Washington: Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has taken a high-stakes gamble in supporting Donald Trump’s White House bid and it appears to be paying off.

With Trump’s election victory, Musk has been given a significant role in overhauling the US government, specifically through a new initiative aimed at slashing the federal budget by $2 trillion.

Before the election, Musk proposed creating a “Department of Government Efficiency” to bring dramatic cost reductions, a promise that mirrors the bold ambitions he has demonstrated with his businesses, making him the world’s wealthiest individual.

However, with few details emerging, questions remain about how Musk will balance this new responsibility while continuing to lead SpaceX, Tesla, and other ventures, including his social media platform X.

Musk’s businesses have extensive dealings with both US and foreign governments, which raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest in his new position.

In an official announcement, Trump revealed that Musk, alongside billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, would co-lead the new initiative, offering external advice and guidance to streamline government operations.

Musk’s endorsement of Trump marked a significant shift towards political engagement. Once known for his advocacy on climate change, Musk distanced himself from Trump after the US withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017, resigning from two advisory councils in protest.

But in recent years, Musk has become Trump’s most prominent celebrity supporter, playing a key role in advancing his “Make America Great Again” agenda.

He reportedly spent over $100 million helping Trump’s 2024 campaign, a small fraction of his estimated $300 billion fortune. Through X, Musk also used his vast platform of over 200 million followers to promote pro-Trump messages and share controversial content, including misinformation about illegal immigration and voting.

Musk’s rise to prominence began in his native South Africa, where he was born in 1971, before relocating to Canada and eventually the United States.

After attending the University of Pennsylvania and briefly considering graduate school at Stanford, Musk dropped out and launched his first company, Zip2, which was sold for more than $300 million in 1999. This was followed by X.com, which later merged with PayPal, eventually selling to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002.

Musk then set his sights on more ambitious ventures. In 2002, he founded SpaceX, aiming to make space travel more cost-effective and to establish a human colony on Mars. He also became the chairman of electric carmaker Tesla in 2004, helping to revolutionize the electric vehicle industry.

Despite early setbacks, SpaceX successfully developed reusable rocket boosters, a breakthrough in the space industry. Musk’s long-term goal is to create an “interplanetary species” with Mars as a target.

Musk, who holds US, Canadian, and South African citizenship, has been married and divorced three times, with 12 children, one of whom tragically passed away in infancy.

Despite his polarizing public persona, Musk remains a central figure in both business and politics.

As his relationship with Trump continues to evolve, the coming months may reveal how these two larger-than-life personalities navigate their shared goals and potential conflicts.