How Donald Trump is Set to Make Elon Musk Even Richer

Having thrown his considerable weight and energy behind president Donald Trump, Elon Musk's support appears to have paid off.

After the Republican was elected the 47th president of the United States in a decisive victory and one of the great political comebacks, shares of Tesla jumped 13 percent Wednesday.

It is an early sign that Musk, who according to Forbes is already the world's richest man with a net worth of $263.8 billion, has already begun to reap what he sowed when he officially endorsed Trump in July.

Tesla stands to benefit greatly from Trump's second term - not least because it will be Musk's competitors, the smaller operators, that will be hit hardest by any reduction in subsidies for electric vehicles.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Trump has proposed tariffs of 10 percent to 20 perce on foreign goods that would also impact Musk's competitors from outside the U.S., especially in China, and shares of EV makers there slid as well in U.S. markets.

The owner of X (formerly Twitter) began his support of the Trump campaign after the now president-elect narrowly avoided assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania in July, which prompted Musk to issue his full endorsement. Months later, when Trump returned to the scene of the crime, Musk went with him and spoke alongside him onstage.

Since then, the world's richest man (according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index) has backed the Trump campaign with $132 million of his own money, via a PAC he set up specifically to elect the former president.

Musk has made it clear what he likes about an incoming Trump administration. He hopes that there will be significant deregulation and greater investment in space exploration, but also that Trump's second administration will push back on so-called culture-war talking points, such as transgender rights.

However, Musk also stands to benefit financially in a big way from the next Trump term.

Trump has already begun to sing Musk's praises. At Trump's election night party in Florida, Musk was the guest of honor, speaking privately with Trump during the event and getting a shout-out in the president-elect's speech to supporters.

Trump said, "We have a new star: Elon. He is an amazing guy. We were sitting together tonight- you know he spent two weeks in Philadelphia and different parts of Pennsylvania campaigning? He's a character, he's a special guy. He's a super-genius, and we have to protect our geniuses, we don't have that many of them. We have to protect our super-geniuses."

With Trump's gratitude plain to see and a foot in the door at the incoming administration, Musk is poised to be one of the key players and beneficiaries of Trump's second term. Here's how.

Tesla

Musk's most well-known venture could benefit heavily from policies that Trump has already floated on the campaign trail. In October, during a rally in Michigan, Trump said that he was considering a ban on self-driving cars from Chinese markets- something that could potentially remove a lot of competition for electric-vehicle giant Tesla.

That same week, Musk had unveiled the Tesla Cybercab, a self-driving taxi. If Asian companies were to be locked out of the U.S. autonomous vehicle market, Musk would be able to solidify Tesla's dominance in the space, paving the way for future sales.

In premarket trading on Wednesday, Tesla stock soared more than 15 percent, hitting $289.58 per share at 05:20 a.m. ET, extending a rally that started on Election Day. Much of Musk's wealth comes from his shares in Tesla, which currently has a market cap of $807 billion.

SpaceX

SpaceX already benefits massively from government policy, as it is the recipient of large government contracts and grants to supplement NASA voyages.

Musk has repeatedly said that Trump's administration will be "pro-space", and any ramping up of exploration is likely to involve SpaceX, giving Musk the chance to secure more funding.

Additionally, Trump's first administration outlined plans for a long-term Mars expedition. If his administration decides to pick up where they left off, perhaps with a nudge from Musk in government, then SpaceX would be one of the top beneficiaries.

Deregulation

The most concrete way that Musk could benefit from Trump's incoming administration is with regards to deregulation. In September, Trump outlined plans for Musk to lead a "government efficiency commission", which would cut down on government spending and remove regulations.

Trump said at the time: "I need an Elon Musk—I need somebody that has a lot of strength and courage and smarts."

With a direct hand on policy, Musk could influence the industries that he has the most stakes in, such as technology and social media. At one of Trump's final rallies in New York, he claimed that he could reduce the federal budget by $2 trillion.

Steven Wang, CEO and founder of online investment platform Dub, told Newsweek ahead of the election that Trump's deregulation would be a boon for the technology sector, and that it would also help other areas that Musk is steeped in, such as cryptocurrency.

"As president, Trump has been a big advocate for tax cuts and deregulation," Wang said. "Whether it's crypto or other areas, a Trump win could mean that the stock market is likely to go up."

Taxation

During the campaign, Musk was extremely critical of the Democrats' approach to taxation, saying, "Eventually, they run out of other people's money and then they come for you."

Musk also said that he pays around $10 billion in tax annually, making him the largest taxpayer in the world. He is worth $262 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Trump's first term saw a host of tax cuts that benefited higher earners, with the top 20 percent of Americans receiving around 65 percent of savings from his 2017 cuts. His 2025 plans include making those tax cuts permanent, and he has suggested lowering the corporate tax rate further, potentially to 15 percent for domestic producers. This reduction would lower the tax burden on Musk's businesses, such as Tesla and SpaceX, potentially increasing their profitability.

Analyses indicate that these measures would disproportionately favor the top one percent of earners, providing them with substantial tax cuts.

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