Musk and Trump in secret talks – WSJ

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump may nominate Tesla CEO Elon Musk as a White House adviser if he wins the November election, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with discussions between the pair.

According to the newspaper’s sources, Musk’s possible nomination is by no means certain, and the details of the possible role are still unclear. However, it is said that in recent months the tycoon and the former US president have established close contacts as a result of talks “ways to provide Musk with formal input and influence” over government policy.

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WSJ sources say that some of Musk and Trump’s conversations concerned immigration, technology and science, and their views are increasingly convergent. During the talks, Musk reportedly asked Trump to post more on X (formerly known as Twitter), the social media site he owns. The former president posted prolifically on the platform before being temporarily banned in 2021.

Tesla’s CEO and prominent American billionaire Nelson Peltz are also said to have planned “data-driven” an investment project aimed at preventing voter fraud in US elections. According to the newspaper, he and Peltz told Trump about their ongoing influence campaign in which they are lobbying elite U.S. circles not to support President Joe Biden’s re-election bid.

Musk briefly served on the White House advisory council under the Trump administration, but left the panel after the former president pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord.

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The American billionaire has not yet commented on these reports. Although the tycoon refrained from supporting the 45th president, in May 2022 he made his pro-GOP sympathies known, writing in X that Democrats “I have become the party of division and hatred, so I can no longer support them and will vote for Republicans.”

Later that year, he expressed support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a former Republican Party presidential candidate who withdrew from the race in January 2024 and supported Trump’s re-election bid.