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The clowning started immediately.
Just as President-elect Trump announced “the Great Elon Musk” and “American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy” would co-lead a new department to slash government waste, Sen. Elizabeth Warren pointed out that having two people do the job of one leader isn’t exactly a model of streamlined efficiency.
Others described the appointment as Trump relegating the outspoken pair to the kids’ table, an assignment to insignificance, a limp concession.
But taking the presidential gesture as a joke underestimates what Musk might do with this newfound power. And that’s something analysts and investors are keenly attuned to — just look at the stock.
Musk has railed against what he sees as government overreach, much of which comes from personal experience. He’s taken particular aim at the Federal Aviation Administration over purported licensing and safety-related violations at his company SpaceX. Musk’s spacecraft outfit has also secured billions of dollars in federal contracts over the last decade.
What’s more, Musk’s array of companies has been the target of several probes and lawsuits by federal agencies. By becoming the czar of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), Musk will be charged with shrinking (or hamstringing) the very institutions that are supposed to be watching over his companies.
(Musk has already suggested eliminating hundreds of existing agencies and cutting the more than $6 trillion annual budget by $2 trillion.)
But what are entanglements if not opportunities?
Like Trump, Musk is adept at waving away conflicts of interest by taking on the mantle of public champion. Musk knows where to cut because he is a businessman confronted everywhere by red tape. Other leaders concerned about decorum might worry about the appearance of corruption. But to Musk, his business aims are a reason to lean in. His zealous self-interest is in your best interest.
What about anxious Tesla (TSLA) investors who have already suffered through years of Musk’s “distractions”? Again, the rising share price of the electric vehicle company since Election Day is an answer to that question.
In a very meaningful sense, Musk’s antics, his public feuding, and his pivot into national politics make up the thing he is selling. If Tesla’s true product is its stock, Musk’s true value is his evangelism.
