With Elon Musk all in for Donald Trump, what might that mean for US space policy?
- A second Trump administration could not only feature much more work for the commercial rocket launcher SpaceX, but also a White House adviser role for Musk
Former US president Donald Trump’s complicated relationship with Elon Musk, America’s most mercurial billionaire and chief executive of the commercial rocket launch company SpaceX, could wield a profound influence on US space policy in the years ahead.
The more entrepreneurial and deregulated approach both men advocate for space comes as China builds on significant successes in its astronautics programme, which some analysts say could further escalate the space race if Trump is re-elected president in November.
Musk, who relies on China as a core market for his business empire – especially for his Tesla electric vehicles – has pledged to support Trump’s campaign, creating a complicated and geopolitically entangled path to these ambitions. The wild card may be which side Musk opts to depend on more.
“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” he declared on X, the social media platform that he owns, posting shortly after Trump survived an assassination attempt this month.
During the Republican National Convention, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk was committing US$45 million a month to a new political action committee backing Trump. This week, though, Musk said that his contributions were “at a much lower level”.
Trump now faces a rejuvenated Democratic Party, following US President Joe Biden’s withdrawal and Vice-President Kamala Harris’ emergence as his probable rival, so he is likely to need whatever Musk provides.
