Former US President Donald Trump said on Monday (local time) that he would offer tech billionaire Elon Musk a Cabinet position or an advisory role if he were re-elected to the White House again.
In an interview with news agency Reuters, Trump was asked whether Musk was being considered for an advisory role or Cabinet job. The former president replied he was willing to do so “if he (Musk) would do it”.
“He’s a very smart guy. I certainly would, if he would do it, I certainly would. He’s a brilliant guy,” Trump said.
Last month, Trump was endorsed by Musk for president. The tech billionaire praised the former president’s “instinctual courage” after surviving an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and expressing admiration for Trump’s vice presidential pick, JD Vance.
Musk’s relationship with Trump has become increasingly close, with the two engaging in a friendly conversation on the billionaire’s platform, X, earlier this month, where Musk reaffirmed his support for Trump’s campaign.
This is not the first time that Musk has had a brush with an advisor role or a Cabinet position under the Trump administration.
After Trump won the election in 2016, Musk was appointed to two of the Republican president’s advisory councils, where he aimed to influence environmental and immigration policies. However, the tech billionaire resigned in 2017 following Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the landmark Paris climate accord.
During his interview with Trump on X, Musk weighed on the idea of having a “government efficiency commission” to oversee spending and reduce waste and said he was keen to serve on such a board, according to Axios.
TRUMP PLANS SCRAPPING OF EV TAX CREDITS
Meanwhile, during the Reuters interview, Trump said he was planning to end a $7,500 tax credit for purchasing electric vehicles if he was re-elected, saying, “Tax credits and tax incentives are not generally a very good thing.” The move, if enacted, may have significant outcomes for Tesla, the electric carmaker which Musk owns.
If Trump is elected in the November 5 presidential election, he could take initiatives to reverse Treasury Department rules, which make it easier for automakers to take advantage of the $7,500 credit or could ask the US Congress to scrap it completely, Reuters reported.
When Trump was president from 2017 to 2021, he sought to revoke the EV tax credit that was later expanded by President Joe Biden in 2022.
“I’m not making any final decisions on it. I’m a big fan of electric cars, but I’m a fan of gasoline-propelled cars, and also hybrids and whatever else happens to come along,” the former president said of the tax credit.
Trump underlined he would scrap the Biden administration’s rules that give automakers a free hand to build more EVs and plug-in hybrids to meet stricter emissions standards. He asserted he saw a “much smaller market” for EVs due to cost and battery range issues.
(with inputs from Reuters)
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