Can the Trump-Musk romance last?

Photo: Kena Betancur Agence France-Presse U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, left, and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk watch a fight during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Nov. 16, 2024.

Adam Plowright – Agence France-Presse and Alex Pigman – Agence France-Presse in Washington

Published at 12:58

• United States

“I can't get him to leave […] but I like having him here”: US President-elect Donald Trump's joke about billionaire Elon Musk, who is set to play a major role in his future administration, could be a sign of future differences.

After being omnipresent during the end of the Republican's campaign, the world's richest man has stuck around and been appointed head of a commission to slash government spending.

But differences over substantive issues and the personalities of the two men could cause turmoil in their budding romance. Here's a look at these potential sources of conflict:

Competing Personalities

The boss of X, Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk is known for his obsession with work and claims a “hardcore” management style. From factories to the boardroom, he doesn’t hesitate to carry out expeditious layoffs or insult the intelligence of his employees in public.

Donald Trump, whose catchphrase was long “you’re fired” when he hosted the show The Apprentice, demands absolute loyalty from his close associates, not hesitating to set them against each other, according to former advisers.

According to the news site Axios, a dispute broke out last week between Elon Musk and Boris Epshteyn, a member of the transition team.

On Saturday, Elon Musk decided to test his influence by supporting Howard Lutnick, CEO of the investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, for the post of Treasury secretary.

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Climate change and energy transition

Having acquired a stake in Tesla in 2004 partly because of his concerns about global warming, Elon Musk left the committee of business leaders who advised Donald Trump during his first term in 2017 when the latter withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement.

“Climate change is real. Leaving the Paris Agreement is not good for America or the world,” he wrote on Twitter. He has since qualified his remarks, saying in an exchange with Donald Trump broadcast on X during the campaign that “if in 50-100 years we are mostly sustainable, I think that will be ok.”

An open climate skeptic, Donald Trump is expected to once again withdraw his country from this agreement aimed at limiting global warming.

Elon Musk made part of his fortune from selling electric cars but he has also invested in the development of batteries and solar panels while Donald Trump is betting on the fossil fuel sector, previously derided by the Tesla boss.

Donald Trump has nominated Chris Wright, CEO of the U.S. Department of Energy, as his new Energy Secretary. of the Liberty company, a notorious climate skeptic, with a roadmap of deregulating the sector to allow the opening of new sites.

The Chinese market

Donald Trump threatens to drastically increase customs duties on Chinese products, at the risk of provoking a new trade war with Beijing.

China is a major market for Tesla, which has a gigantic factory there aimed at competing with domestic production of electric vehicles.

Elon Musk has so far been careful not to criticize Chinese leaders, unlike the future Secretary of State appointed by Trump, Marco Rubio.

Government “Efficiency”

Known for slashing his own companies’ spending, Elon Musk has been tasked with reducing federal spending.

But cutting costs may be easier said than done, with some Republican lawmakers already expressing reluctance to roll back programs that would help them re-elect.

Big Tech

The potential for conflicts of interest is high in the tech sector, with Elon Musk accumulating rivalries in Silicon Valley.

What would happen if Donald Trump and OpenAI were to merge? Musk helped launch the artificial intelligence specialist a decade ago, but the split was tumultuous, leading to the creation of his own company xAI.

Would the billionaire tolerate exchanges between the president-elect and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon but also of SpaceX's competitor in the space sector, Blue Origin?

Would he keep quiet if the Republican attacked Facebook for its anti-conservative positions while he defends freedom of expression body and soul?

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