CNN
—
Elon Musk could also be taking a step again from his full-time gig on the Trump administration’s Division of Authorities Effectivity. However his firms are nonetheless benefiting from the unprecedented relationship between the world’s richest man and the sitting US president.
That message was on full show in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the place Musk was a part of a program of conferences and conversations held with enterprise leaders resembling Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on the Saudi-US Funding Discussion board.
However Musk, who has been known as Trump’s “first buddy,” held a particular function within the convention.
The billionaire CEO was the speaker chosen to look simply earlier than President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman gave their remarks. In dialog with Saudi Communications and Data Minister Abdullah Alswaha, Musk revealed new enterprise offers he had simply struck with the Saudi authorities.
“I’d additionally wish to thank the dominion for approving Starlink for maritime and aviation use,” Musk introduced, referring to his satellite tv for pc web firm.
Alswaha additionally hinted that Musk might deliver Tesla’s robotaxis to the dominion; the electrical automobile maker simply launched in Saudi Arabia in April. And Musk made positive to plug his different firms: the Boring Firm, and xAI.
Musk’s remarks about bringing Starlink and Tesla to Saudi Arabia are only one instance of how his proximity to Trump have put his firms on a fair larger international stage – and proceed to take action. And even earlier than Trump was elected final yr, Musk’s companies, particularly SpaceX, benefited massively from authorities contracts.
SpaceX and Tesla didn’t instantly reply to requests for feedback concerning the remarks made in Saudi Arabia.
When Tesla grew to become the goal of protests and vandalism earlier this yr, Trump held what primarily amounted to a Tesla industrial on the White Home grounds. Lawyer Common Pam Bondi confirmed how the administration was prepared to not simply promote Tesla, but in addition defend it, by threatening to throw anybody caught vandalizing or attacking a Tesla location with years in jail.
The Washington Submit not too long ago reported that some nations dealing with tariffs have struck Starlink offers since Trump took workplace – doubtlessly seeing them as a option to bolster the connection with the White Home. Lesotho did so in hopes “hopes that licensing Starlink demonstrates goodwill and intent to welcome U.S. companies,” in keeping with State Division memos obtained by the Submit.
Some federal regulatory investigations or restrictions on Musk’s firms have dropped off since Trump’s inauguration, NBC Information not too long ago documented, resembling a Division of Justice case towards SpaceX.
The New York Instances has additionally reported that SpaceX is more likely to reap the advantages of a lift in federal spending – and that Musk’s Boring firm is in discussions with the federal government to assist with an enormous Amtrak mission.
Musk’s proximity to Trump has additionally doubtless helped X, previously Twitter, which he purchased in 2022 for $44 billion. Main advertisers fled the platform after hate speech surged on the platform following Musk’s takeover. However X has turn out to be Musk’s megaphone and a platform of alternative for the Trump administration, with some businesses completely utilizing X for communication.
Musk says he’ll proceed serving to with DOGE, dipping out and in of Washington. However the advantages to his firms will doubtless endure with Trump in energy.
