Billionaire Elon Musk said on Tuesday, May 20, that he was pulling back from spending his fortune on politics, asserting his Tesla electric car company was doing well despite blowback over his support of US President Donald Trump. "In terms of political spending, I'm going to do a lot less in the future," Musk told Bloomberg's Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, speaking by video link from Austin, Texas.
Musk, the richest person on Earth, spent hundreds of millions of dollars to help Trump win the 2024 presidential election, and questions were rife in Washington whether his largesse would continue. "If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I don't currently see a reason," he said in the often tense interview.
The comments will trigger speculation that the close relationship between Trump and Musk may be shifting as the Tesla tycoon steps away from his full-time role as cost-cutting chief for the US administration. When it comes to politics, "I did what needed to be done," Musk said. Musk confirmed he has reduced his role as the unofficial head of the administration's "Department of Government Efficiency," working there now just one or two days a week.
Tesla, which is the major source of Musk's wealth, has suffered significant brand damage due to his political work, particularly with Trump. He has also expressed support for the far-right anti-immigration AfD party in Germany. Since Trump took office, Tesla dealerships have become scenes of protest and vandalism in the United States and beyond. "It's certainly fine to object to political things, but it's not fine to resort to violence and hanging someone in effigy and death threats," Musk said.
But he pushed back when asked if he was worried about the effects of his political positions on sales at the electric carmaker, saying the company was doing fine. Aside from a sales decline in Europe, "we're strong everywhere else," Musk said. He pointed to the performance of Tesla's shares on Wall Street as a sign that the company was on good footing. "We're now back over a trillion dollars in market cap, so clearly, the market is aware of the situation, so Tesla is already turned around," he said.