(Bloomberg) -- Many billionaires have endorsed Donald Trump, but he’s mostly talking about one. A lot.
Trump mentioned Elon Musk 82 times since the Tesla Inc. and SpaceX Chief Executive Officer publicly endorsed the former president in July through the end of September, compared to five times in the previous six months, according to a Bloomberg analysis of 144 public appearances over the first nine months of the year.(1)
Musk, who’s funneled $75 million to the pro-Trump PAC he founded, isn’t just any billionaire dabbling in politics. He and the six companies he oversees have a lot to gain—or lose—from who sits in the Oval Office next year.
Tesla, the world’s largest EV maker and one of the biggest beneficiaries of US manufacturing tax credits, has reaped roughly $10 billion globally since 2009 from selling credits to other automakers that have to comply with tougher emissions rules. SpaceX, now a vital partner to NASA, boasts contracts worth billions with the US government, while Starlink operates satellites in roughly 100 global markets.
Musk’s social network, X, remains an influential digital town square and, lately, a megaphone to promote Trump’s candidacy.
Trump’s namechecks aren’t just flattering Musk with an ego boost. They provide publicity for Musk’s companies, which make everything from electric cars and rockets to machine-brain interfaces and tunneling equipment.
The Republican candidate has also floated a presidential appointment for Musk, a non-cabinet level position he’s coined the “Secretary of Cost-Cutting.”
"The future of America and the future of civilization is at stake," Musk said on Thursday as he urged people to register to vote at a pro-Trump town hall he held in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. “This election could be decided by a handful of people."
EV Turnaround
In May, Musk founded a political action committee called America PAC, which focuses on pro-Trump canvassing, mailers and digital ads. Two months later, Musk officially endorsed Trump in the aftermath of the July assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
In turn, Trump went from barely mentioning Musk to regularly heaping praise on him and “his beautiful endorsement.” Mentions of “Elon” are now a fixture of the Republican nominee’s meandering rallies, which weave broadsides on crime and immigration with references to “liquid gold,” taxes, and the fictional character Hannibal Lecter.
“Elon gave me a tremendous endorsement, a very heartfelt endorsement,” Trump said during a Sept. 25 campaign event in North Carolina. “He feels that if I’m not elected, this country is finished.” Then, without skipping a beat, he added, “He makes a great car.”
Musk, 53, and Trump, 78, have a complicated history. Musk served on Trump’s business advisory councils during his first term, but quit in June 2017 after the former president announced that the US would withdraw from the landmark Paris climate accord. In July 2022, Trump lashed out at Musk and called him a “bulls**t artist.” Days after that, Musk posted that it was “time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.”
The pair have obviously made amends, and the former president has shown a willingness to forgive and forget when it serves him. Trump has also softened his public stance on EVs, an important win for Musk at a time when electric vehicle sales growth has slowed.
When Trump initially mentioned EVs, he’d mostly rail against what he called “crooked Joe’s insane electric vehicle mandate” — a reference to the Biden White House goal of EVs making up half of new car sales by 2030. But after Musk threw his weight — and money — behind Trump, the former president began hedging his critiques of electric vehicles, walking a fine line between his most influential benefactor and his skeptical voter base.
“They don’t go far. They cost too much. They’re all made in China. Other than that, they’re fantastic,” Trump said in August at an Atlanta rally. “I’m for electric cars. I have to be, you know, because Elon endorsed me very strongly, Elon. So I have no choice.”
Self-identified Democrats have soured on Tesla since 2022, and that trend accelerated over the past few months, according to survey data from Morning Consult Intelligence, with unfavorable views rising to the highest level since polling began in 2016. On the flip side, Republicans’ views of Tesla have improved.
“There are lots of people who are Elon followers, more than Trump followers. And the people that are pro-Elon, they’re gonna turn out for him,” said Emily Loiser, 42, a Blairsville, Pennsylvania, teacher who attended Trump’s second Butler rally with her son to hear Musk.
Sporting a black MAGA hat, “Occupy Mars” shirt and black blazer, Musk jumped on stage during the rally and proclaimed: “As you can see, I’m not just MAGA. I’m dark MAGA.”
Space Ambitions
Tesla may be the main driver of Musk’s wealth, but SpaceX is where a Trump presidency might have big impact. References to rockets and satellites are increasingly popping up in Trump speeches.
“There’s a rocket. Oh look, a rocket’s flying. It’s Elon. He’s very good at what he does,” Trump said as he pointed to the sky during a Wisconsin rally in September.
Trump then alluded to the plight of two astronauts who remain on the International Space Station months longer than planned after the Boeing craft that brought them up had to return to Earth due to a variety of mishaps. SpaceX will bring them home instead. “You watch, he’ll get that problem solved,” Trump said of Musk.
One area Trump and Musk are both focused on is Mars. Musk’s lifelong aim to colonize the planet currently relies on the billions of dollars in SpaceX and Starlink contracts to ultimately fund the mission.
Trump’s interest in Mars prompted NASA to more heavily emphasize the Artemis program as a “moon to Mars” initiative during his first term. Trump has now vowed to get to Mars by 2028. “We will lead the world in space. Remember, I did Space Force,” Trump said during a North Carolina rally last month. “I’ll talk to Elon. Elon, get those rocket ships going because we want to reach Mars before the end of my term.”
‘Rich as Hell’
In recent weeks, Democrats have seized on the relationship. Future Forward, the main super PAC supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, spent $12 million in the last week to air an ad that features Musk, according to AdImpact.
The 30-second spot zeroes in on Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthy and suggests that billionaires like Musk can buy their way into policy change.
With less than three weeks to go before Election Day, Musk is throwing the full weight of his fame, wealth and influence behind Trump. “If he loses, I’m f--ked,” he said, chuckling, during a recent interview with Tucker Carlson. “How long do you think my prison sentence is going to be? Will I see my children? I don’t know.”
--With assistance from Stephanie Lai and Alicia Tang.
(1) Methodology: Bloomberg News examined transcripts from 144 public speeches and statements made by Donald Trump between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30. Appearances on podcasts, radio or local television were excluded. The speeches were sourced from Bloomberg Government, Rev, C-SPAN, the New York Times, Right Side Broadcasting, Newsmax, Real America’s Voice, Factba.se on Vimeo, CBS and CNBC.The transcripts were initially analyzed for direct mentions of “Elon” and “Musk” by Trump. The transcripts were further reviewed for mentions of electric-vehicle related keywords including “EV”, “Tesla” and others. Mentions were then manually categorized by multiple reporters as positive, neutral or negative and the results were tallied.The analysis excluded Trump’s interview with Elon Musk on X because Musk as the nature of the interview produced outlier results. Other speeches, including C-SPAN’s videos of Trump’s remarks after a fraud hearing in February and his remarks after Day 16 of his hush money trial in May were excluded due to lack of completeness.
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