Musk will reduce his political activity: "I think I've done enough."
The announcement comes after Trump announced his impending departure from the White House.
WashingtonElon Musk has said he plans to reduce his political spending after being a key donor in the election campaign that brought Donald Trump to the White House. "In terms of political spending, I will do a lot less in the future," he said Tuesday in a video interview at the Qatar Economic Forum, according to the Wall Street Journal"I think I've done enough," Musk said. announced to his team that Musk will leave in the near future his role as a leader of massive cuts in government.
Musk's statement also coincides with the failure of the campaign in favor of the conservative judge in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. The South African donated more than $20 million to Brad Schimel and even held a rally in his support, replicating the same tactic he used with Trump in 2024. Schimel's defeat also confirmed Musk's slumping popularity. The world's richest man has also lost influence within the presidential cabinet: constant tensions and clashes with the rest of the government team have made Musk a figure too problematic, even for the Republican.
In April, Musk already indicated that he would spend less time in Washington and more time leading Tesla. The electric car company has suffered significant losses since its owner took a more active role in politics. Investors had been concerned that he had not focused on the business as car sales and the company's value plummeted on the stock market. Tesla's share price fell as much as 45% this year before recovering slightly thanks to a rebound in the markets.
On neutrality in the White House
For much of 2024, Musk avoided taking an overt political stance. But after the attempted assassination of Trump in July, the Tesla owner became fully involved in the Republican's presidential campaign. Beyond donating more than $250 million, Musk also put his social network X at Trump's service and starred in campaign events in his favor. Musk's involvement in the final stretch of the campaign further polarized the scene, and in fact, the South African was the subject of several controversies due to practices suspected of trying to buy votes.
His political action committee offered one million dollars a day to voters in the seven swing states to sign a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. At the time, the Philadelphia district attorney filed a lawsuit to stop the lottery, citing Pennsylvania election law. elections in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
