When Donald Trump celebrated his presidential victory early Wednesday morning, Elon Musk was there with him.

‘A star is born. Elon,” Trump said on stage at his Mar-a-Lago resort as he thanked the world’s richest person for his two-week campaign in Pennsylvania.

Musk, who has poured at least $130 million into a pro-Trump campaign, has parlayed Trump’s support into another full-time job in recent months, funding a swing-state operation to register voters and using his social media platform to continually show his support. preferred candidate, often with wrong information.

Musk’s investment in Trump is already paying off, even though Trump won’t take office until January 20.

Tesla Shares rose 15% on Wednesday, adding about $15 billion in paper value to Musk’s net worth. The electric vehicle manufacturer is facing headwinds in the global market from Chinese competitors, declining European sales and growing consumer aversion to its political views.

But with Musk joining forces with Trump and the president-elect promising to scrap the kind of regulations Musk abhors, Wall Street is betting that Tesla will be the net beneficiary.

For Musk, the potential profits extend far beyond Tesla.

During his victory speech, Trump also praised Musk’s SpaceX and thanked Musk for delivering Starlink Wi-Fi terminals to parts of the US affected by the hurricane. All of which gives Musk plenty of reasons to be optimistic that a second Trump administration will pay him and his companies healthy dividends.

Musk’s companies are currently embroiled in a series of investigations and lawsuits from federal agencies regarding issues including alleged securities law violations, workplace safety, labor and civil rights violations, violations of federal environmental laws, consumer fraud, and vehicle safety deficiencies .

Given the executive branch’s excessive control over federal regulators, Musk can look forward to regulators and intelligence agencies ending some or all of the 19 known ongoing federal investigations and lawsuits against Tesla, SpaceX and X, formerly known as Twitter.

On October 27 at Madison Square Garden in New York, Musk was one of several Trump fans and surrogates who spoke at an all-day rally. Much of the coverage of the event focused on comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s bigoted comments, including his description of Puerto Rico as a “floating island of trash.”

Musk was introduced by Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, who called the Tesla CEO the “greatest capitalist” in American history. Lutnick said he and Musk were co-founders of the envisioned Department of Government Efficiency and asked Musk how much he thought could be cut from the federal budget.

Musk responded with “at least $2 trillion,” which is more than the federal government’s discretionary budget of $1.7 trillion. The comment got a shout from Lutnick and applause from the audience.

Musk did not specify where he wanted to make cuts, but rather accused agencies such as the SEC, Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Aviation Administration of overstepping regulations or infringing on his free speech rights.

He also accused the Biden administration of hiring too many IRS workers and has vocally objected to a so-called billionaire tax.

Having a role on a tailor-made committee could give Musk power over the budgets and staffing of federal agencies and the ability to push for the elimination of burdensome regulations.

Musk also said during a Tesla earnings call on October 23 that he planned to use his influence with Trump to create a “federal approval process for autonomous vehicles.” Approvals are currently taking place at the state level.

Tesla has been working on self-driving technology for more than a decade, but has yet to produce a robotaxi or vehicle that is safe to use without a human on hand to steer or brake at any time.

Moreover, a Trump administration could agree to increase cooperation between the government and its companies.

Musk’s latest startup, xAI, is developing large language models and generative artificial intelligence software that aims to compete with similar products from Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Meta and others.

Meta recently announced that its open-source Llama models are available to US government agencies in the areas of defense and national security. And OpenAI is already working with the US military after adding a retired US Army general and former director of the National Security Agency to its board in June.

Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

According to research into federal spending and prime contracts by FedScout, SpaceX has received more than $19 billion since 2008 from contracts with the federal government, including from NASA, the U.S. Air Force and the Space Force.

According to Geoff Orazem, CEO of FedScout, the company is on track to bring in several billion dollars annually from prime contracts with the federal government in the coming years.

That number doesn’t include classified spending, smaller items like Starlink terminals, or spending done at the state level through block grants from the federal government, such as when the Federal Emergency Management Agency provides states with natural disaster recovery assistance.

Meanwhile, Tesla has reported about $10 billion in sales of “automotive regulatory credits,” or environmental credits, since 2015, Orazem found by reviewing the company’s financial filings.

These incentives are largely derived from federal and state regulations in the U.S. that require automakers to sell some low-emission vehicles or buy credits from companies like Tesla, which often have a surplus.

Regulatory credits were about 60% of Tesla’s net profit in the second quarter of 2024, and 39% in the third quarter. Other government rebates on electric vehicle sales accounted for about 50% of Tesla’s third-quarter profit.

Trump has not made clear whether he will maintain these rebates and credit programs. He previously said he might cut the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.

In addition, Trump has promised to cut income taxes and impose steep rates. While rates could help protect Tesla from Chinese competitors, such a move could significantly disrupt Tesla’s automotive supply chain, which relies on certain materials and parts from China.

When it comes to worker protections, Musk has tried to chip away at the National Labor Relations Board’s constitutional authority through lawsuits. He may conclude that such lawsuits are no longer necessary if Trump is willing to shake up the power of the agency, which is tasked with ensuring that companies comply with federal laws that allow workers to form unions and engage in collective bargaining with their employers. to eliminate or reduce.

Then there’s Musk’s involvement with sanctioned governments.

At SpaceX, Musk has withheld use of Starlink, the company’s satellite internet service, over Taiwan, even from U.S. troops stationed there. The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk cut off access as a favor requested by Russian President Vladimir Putin, reportedly on behalf of Chinese President Xi Jinping, during a series of ongoing, frequent conversations between the two men.

Responding to the reports, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that if they were true, Musk’s conversations with Putin should be federally investigated.

According to an analysis by NBC News, Musk has repeatedly posted pro-Kremlin content to his hundreds of millions of followers on X. In fact, he has engaged with content from Tenet Media and its creators at least 60 times on the social network. According to the Justice Department, Tenet was at the center of an alleged Russian covert operation to manipulate American public opinion ahead of the 2024 election.

While Vice President-elect JD Vance recently called Putin an American adversary, Trump has often spoken of his affection for the Russian president even since Russia’s devastating 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin officials have hailed Trump’s victory in this election week celebrated.

Musk, who publicly supported Trump shortly after the former president’s first assassination attempt in July, has said he plans to remain involved in American politics for the long term.

He said in a discussion on

A priority, Musk said, would be to help elect prosecutors “who prosecute repeat violent criminals who clearly pose a danger to the people.”