Elon Musk is excited about the possibility of joining a second Donald Trump administration — and he’s sharpening his ax.
The right-wing tech entrepreneur announced shortly after the former president was shot during a July rally in Pennsylvania that he “fully” supports the MAGA candidate.
But Trump said in a recent interview he doesn’t think the world’s richest man would have time to serve in a cabinet position while running his multinational companies, which include Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform X.
In the early hours of Tuesday, Musk excitedly used X to respond to a report alleging he might be tapped to audit “federal agencies to identify programs to cut” if Trump is elected in November.
“I can’t wait,” Musk replied. “There is a lot of waste and needless regulation in government that needs to go.”
Trump complimented Musk on his willingness to cut operating costs during a broadcasted discussion between the billionaires last month.
“You would be very good,” Trump said while crediting Musk for opposing organized labor. “You’d love it.”
Musk laughed and said, “Yeah,” as Trump showered him with praise.
The United Auto Workers responded by filing a federal labor complaint accusing Trump and Musk of trying to intimidate workers. His car company, Tesla, is a non-union operation that has helped make Musk worth more than $240 billion.
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris used Trump’s conversation with Musk in her campaign to stop the Republicans from winning in November.
“Trump praises billionaire Elon Musk for firing workers who were striking for better pay and working conditions,” her campaign posted on X.
Musk told the BBC in April that he trimmed 80% of X’s workforce after he purchased the platform, formerly known as Twitter, in October 2022.
Despite some embarrassing technical issues — including the glitch-plagued Trump interview — X continues to operate nearly two years after Musk spent $44 billion to own it. The company has lost 71.5% of its value since that acquisition, according to the Fidelity Investments financial firm.