'A star is born:' Elon Musk's big bet on Trump pays off

Elon Musk’s massive bet on President-elect Trump appears to have paid off, as the billionaire owner of Tesla and SpaceX looks ahead to an administration likely to boost his companies and his own political power. 

Trump was projected to win the presidency as of early Wednesday morning, squarely defeating Vice President Harris in the Electoral College and capturing the popular vote for the first time. 

In his victory speech in the wee hours of the morning, the president-elect offered a shoutout to Musk. 

“We have a new star,” Trump said. “A star is born — Elon!” 

As congratulations rolled in for the Republican victor, several key figures in the business world also gave credit to Musk. 

“Congrats @realDonaldTrump,” billionaire investor and Harris surrogate Mark Cuban wrote in a post on X. “You won fair and square. Congrats to @elonmusk as well. #Godspeed.” 

Anthony Scaramucci, who briefly served as White House communications director under Trump and has since become a critic of his old boss, also offered congratulations to Trump and Musk over an “incredibly well executed” campaign. 

Musk endorsed Trump in July, shortly after the former president was shot in the ear during an attempted assassination at a campaign rally. The move and months that followed marked a major rightward shift for Musk, who previously shied away from the political world and even criticized Trump at times.  

The billionaire has since used his massive platform on X and immense wealth to boost the former president, launching a pro-Trump super PAC, to which he contributed about $118 million. 

America PAC played a key role in the Trump campaign’s get-out-the-vote efforts in swing states, occasionally drawing scrutiny with its boundary-pushing methods, such as its daily $1 million giveaways to registered swing state voters in the final weeks of the election. 

Musk himself took an active role in boosting Trump’s bid, appearing at several rallies alongside the president-elect and holding a series of town halls in Pennsylvania. 

GOP strategist Chris Johnson suggested Musk made the “bet” a Trump administration would make room for innovation without government oversight.  

"When you see the expansion of these bureaucracies and that getting in the way of tech development or manufacturing or energy development, you can see why they’re sympathetic,” Johnson told The Hill.  

“And I think that’s the best that Elon is making, is that a Trump administration is going to allow for the kinds of development of energy, technologies, manufacturing...with less government interference than a Democratic administration.”  

The billionaire’s numerous companies likely stand to benefit with the Trump at the helm of the country.  

While the president-elect's antagonistic stance toward electric vehicles is seemingly at odds with Musk’s priorities as CEO of Tesla, Trump's plans to cut EV subsidies could boost the carmaker. 

The loss of subsidies will likely hurt the EV industry overall but give a “clear competitive advantage” to Tesla, said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives. Trump is also expected to raise tariffs on Chinese products, which could keep cheaper Chinese EVs out of American markets. 

Ives estimated that Trump’s win could add $40 to $50 to Tesla’s share price. As of market close on Wednesday, Tesla’s stock was up nearly 15 percent, increasing Musk’s worth by more than $15 billion.  

“It's a strategic bet for Musk that will be historic for Tesla,” Ives told The Hill. 

Whether through a Cabinet position or indirect influence with Trump, Musk could play a role in the next administration’s push for reduced government regulation.  

Trump has not confirmed whether Musk would hold an official title in his second administration, though he floated the tech magnate’s name to head up a panel focused on cutting government costs. 

A position in a Trump cabinet could lead to conflicts of interest for Musk, who is currently a major government contractor through his ownership of SpaceX and Tesla.  

NASA and the Department of Defense are among more than a dozen federal agencies that hold contracts worth billions of dollars with Musk’s business ventures. A New York Times analysis published last month found Tesla, Musk’s electric vehicle company, and SpaceX, his aerospace firm, have held $15.4 billion in government contracts over the past decade. 

It is still not clear if Trump’s proposed “government efficiency commission” will come to fruition, but former government officials and ethics experts have suggested it could give Musk oversight of the agencies his companies directly work with.  

Musk’s allyship with Trump comes amid a broader rightward shift in Silicon Valley, where several tech leaders have either voiced support for the former president or made apparent attempts to mend fences ahead of his reelection.  

The tech mogul’s high visibility and involvement with Trump could position him as a figurehead for Silicon Valley’s apparent movement away from the left.  

When asked if Trump’s victory suggests this trend will continue, Johnson said he believes it will be a “long-term shift.”  

“I think this is something that’s the start of a broader trend unless Democrats change how they view the government and how they view bureaucracy as somewhat sacrosanct,” he said. “There is little to no overlap between the interests of innovators and entrepreneurs and the priorities that Democrats are making.”