A report Wednesday said former President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have met to discuss a possible role for Musk if there is a Trump administration next year.
The Wall Street Journal said the concept would be for the Tesla and Space X founder and X owner to have an “advisory role” if Trump wins this fall’s presidential election.
The report noted that nothing is definite.
It said the two men were “developing a friendly rapport.”
The report, which cited as its source “people familiar with the talks,” said Trump and Musk discussed how the latter might have “formal input and influence over policies related to border security and the economy.”
The Journal said Musk told the former president he has been lobbying major business leaders not to support President Joe Biden in the Democrat’s quest for a second term.
He and billionaire investor Nelson Peltz also briefed Trump on a “data-driven project to prevent voter fraud,” according to the report.
It said Trump, Musk and other “wealthy and powerful” people met in March at Peltz’s estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Elon Musk and Donald Trump have discussed a role for the Tesla chief if the former president wins a second term. Inside the two men’s growing alliance. https://t.co/xjCv9NveTm https://t.co/xjCv9NveTm
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) May 29, 2024
Trump campaign spokesman Brian Hughes was quoted in the Journal as saying Trump is the only one who will decide “what role an individual plays in his presidency” if he wins in November.
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“But it has been widely reported and is demonstrated in a number of ways,” Hughes told the New York Post, “that many of the nation’s most important leaders in technology and innovation are concerned with the damage done to their industry by Biden’s failures to handle our economy and his moves to overburden innovators with government bureaucracy and unrelenting regulation.”
Musk has said he will not donate to either candidate but will work against Biden using his influence, the Journal reported.
The report said Musk and Trump have discussed illegal immigration, the Space Force and electric vehicles — a topic on which the two men have very different public views. Musk heads Tesla, which makes EVs, while Trump has opposed Biden’s push for electric vehicles.
The Journal said that in recent weeks, Musk and Trump, who did not enjoy a cordial relationship in the past, have communicated more often by phone.
It said the X CEO has urged Trump to return to the social media platform. Trump now makes virtually all of his social media posts on his Truth Social network.
Trump has said that he met with Musk in March, but he did not disclose what was discussed, the Post reported.
“Look, I’ve been friendly with him over the years. I’ve helped him when I was president. I helped him. I’ve liked him,” the former president said.
