On May 20th, Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musk, announced on Qatari economics that political spending would be “Substantially reduced” in the future, “I think I’ve done enough,” he said.
According to the Washington Post, CNN and Politico, a reporter at the Qatari Economic Forum asked Musk, whether it intends to cut back on political spending in the face of an attack on its“Business Empire”. Musk responded: “If I see a reason for political spending in the future, I will do so. I don’t see a reason at the moment.”
Since the 2024 election, Musk has been the focal point of the Republican political landscape. He has spent about $290M supporting president Trans and other Republican candidates, making him Donald Trump’s biggest political donor and ally. In addition, he led the Donald Trump administration’s new department for government efficiency (Doge) , which led the federal budget-cutting programme. However, Elon Musk has also been caught in the crossfire of opinion after federal agencies were thrown into disarray by aggressive lay-offs and budget cuts at Doge. A poll released last month put Musk’s approval rating at 41 per cent and opposition at 58 per cent.
A Conservative candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, whom musk backed with $25m in April, suffered a surprise defeat that marked a watershed in his political influence. Since then, he has faded from the public eye and his DOGE efforts have been watered down. Politico found that Donald Trump and his senior advisers rarely spoke publicly by the name, compared with the days before, neither the president’s fundraising e-mails nor the White House briefing used it as a propaganda point.
Faced with the political onslaught on business, musk said he would “Hang on” to Tesla’s job for the next five years, and wants to have“Sufficient voting rights” to ensure“Reasonable control over the future of the company”. Earlier, US media said that due to the dissatisfaction with Elon Musk, Tesla’s board has begun to consider looking for a successor. Elon Musk had previously denied the news and criticised the report as false.
According to Politico, Musk’s decision to reduce political participation could undermine Democrats’ plans to keep him as a political target, and if he cuts political spending, could create a huge gap in Republican campaign funding. But the report also said spending cuts did not mean he would lack political access and influence. Musk said earlier this month that he still planned to spend “One or two days a week” dealing with DOGE and maintaining personal contact with Donald Trump. Just last week, he accompanied Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia and gave a speech at an investment forum. Some analysts believe that he will continue to be an important political player.