Politics

Elon Musk says he hasn't discussed taking a role in a second Trump administration

Elon Musk (left) and former President Donald Trump (right).
Elon Musk (left) and former President Donald Trump (right). Apu Gomes via Getty Images; James Devaney/GC Images via Getty Images
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Elon Musk says he hasn't spoken to former President Donald Trump about joining a second Trump administration.

"There have not been any discussions of a role for me in a potential Trump Presidency," the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said in an X post on Thursday.

Musk's denial comes just a day after The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump wanted to give Musk an advisory role if he wins the 2024 election.

The pair have discussed ways for Musk to provide input on border security and economic policies, though the title and details of Musk's role remain unclear, The Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

"President Trump will be the only voice of what role an individual plays in his presidency," Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, told the outlet.

Representatives for Musk and Trump didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.

Joining a second Trump administration would be an about-turn for Musk, who said he voted for President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Musk, however, has since soured on Biden. The mercurial billionaire became critical of Biden and the Democratic Party after Tesla was excluded from the president's 2021 electric-vehicle summit.

Besides chastising Biden for his handling of the Southern border crisis, Musk has also accused the Democrats of being "controlled by the unions."

But while Musk has said that he is unlikely to vote for Biden, he has stopped short of endorsing Trump.

"I may, in the final stretch, endorse a candidate. But I don't know yet," Musk told former CNN host Don Lemon in an interview that aired on March 18. "I want to make a considered decision before the election, and if I do decide to endorse a candidate, then I would explain exactly why."

On Thursday, Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush-money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels.

The conviction makes Trump the first former American president to become a felon.

"Troubling indeed," Musk said of Trump's predicament. "The American people as a whole should decide who is president."

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Kwan Wei Kevin Tan
Kwan Wei Kevin Tan
Kevin was a reporter at Business Insider's Singapore bureau. He reported primarily on the ins and outs of the business world, whether it be breaking news, covering CEO moves, tracking quarterly earnings, or writing explainers.He also covered careers and workplace issues, and has written about career transitions, the FIRE lifestyle, the college internship arms race, and the job hunt struggles faced by computer science majors.BackgroundKevin joined Business Insider's Singapore bureau in 2023. Before that, he was a civil servant at Singapore's Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment. He was appointed to the Singapore government's Public Service Leadership Programme, a talent development programme that develops capable and talented individuals for key leadership positions in the public service.Kevin’s journalism career began in college, where he first worked as a researcher for Channel NewsAsia and The Economist, and later as an intern reporter at Bloomberg News. In 2017, the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust awarded him the Leading Change Journalism Bursary. His stories have appeared in numerous publications, including Fortune, The Japan Times, and The Edge Singapore.Kevin holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the National University of Singapore, where he was an NUS Merit Scholar. He was also the recipient of the PwC Whole Leadership Award, the NTUC Income Prize, the CFA Singapore Prize, and the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Prize.