So, What’s in it For Elon?

Photo via Al Jazeera

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Dark MAGA means business, literally. Elon Musk, the 53-year-old South African businessman turned right-wing messiah, has made quite the debut in American politics. Serving as the CEO of SpaceX, Tesla, and the newfound owner of X (previously known as Twitter), Musk has hard launched his shift into politics as President Donald Trump’s right-hand man. 

As of Trump’s 2025 inauguration, Musk is the face of the newfound Department of Government Efficiency, a cornerstone of the Trump administration dedicated to improving governmental productivity by reducing thousands of staff and consolidating federal programs. 

Musk’s shift from technocratic tycoon to neo-conservative government official is abrasive and surprising, especially considering his prior socially liberal and fiscally conservative ideology. Musk said it himself back in 2018, “I’m somewhere in the middle.” 

This previous version of Musk seems detached from the man who openly denounced his transgender daughter and has since declared a metaphorical war against the “woke mind virus.” 

Pre-Trump Musk flew under the political radar and seemed more of a slightly controversial technocratic libertarian than a perpetrator of a hardcore right-wing agenda. So what happened to the Musk we all knew and tolerated? The answer isn’t too shocking when considering where his interests lie. 

When Musk was cultivating his pioneering persona in the budding tech industry of the mid-2010s, he wasn’t just building a business, he was building a brand. Branding is everything in business, and Musk knows this. Branding determines how people perceive him and why they should support his ventures, not just with spending power but also with social power. 

Back in 2018, Musk carefully marketed himself and his brand as the “cool” billionaire who launched convertibles into space. He took risks and painted himself as an innovative-modern underdog in a landscape of technological conformity. Despite his outspoken disdain for labor unions and avid support for pronatalism, this marketing worked well enough to develop a generally positive public perception of the tech mogul. In America’s defense, how could a billionaire possibly be unethical when he’s got a sense of humor? 

Musk’s meticulous marketing paid off in the latter half of the 2010s but quickly fell apart amidst Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, despite a right-wing victory. American journalist Kara Swisher documents the motivations and rationale behind Musk’s shift in public imaging and politicization of his brand in her memoir Burn Book. 

A pioneer in tech journalism, Swisher has reported on the infamous Silicon Valley tech industry since the mid-90s. Burn Book covers the 21st-century tech enterprises America can’t escape, yet Swisher’s description of Musk’s descent into right-wing doctrines stands out.

Swisher recalls begrudging respect for Musk that towed the line between admitting his intelligence and barely tolerating his reportedly obnoxious behavior. To Swisher, Musk’s purchase and subsequent rebranding of Twitter marks the beginning of his fall from grace. She writes, “Musk had almost completely lost the narrative,” referring to his newfound conservative values. 

Additionally, Musk’s sparse visits to the White House during Joe Biden’s presidency and outspoken dissent against his prior administration signaled Musk’s growing solidarity with right-wing America. Fast forward to a year later, and Swisher’s claims continue to ring true. But is Elon Musk’s new far-right persona all that surprising? Not quite. 

Musk’s political branding circles back to who he is at his core—not a politician, not an administrator, and certainly not a surveyor of government efficiency but, much like Trump: a businessman. His decision-making processes are centered around what will prove most efficient for his financial survival. Trump’s platform is already catered towards corporations, and Musk’s fiasco of a political career is an attempt to cash in on the benefits of this platform. Notably, his advocacy for lowering the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15% is especially enticing for a mogul like Musk.  

After just one month, Elon Musk has already reaped the benefits of the Trump presidency. Trump’s dismantling of governmental agencies and officials has left Musk off the hook for several lawsuits that target his empire. 

The National Labor Relations Board, aimed at protecting workers’ rights, lost two officials and one board member amidst Trump’s executive orders, rendering them unable to finalize any of the 24 investigations into Musk’s business practices. 

Musk’s business endeavors, which were performed under the guise of government efficiency, raise concern but will likely not go unchallenged in the foreseeable future. Just weeks after the DOGE’s establishment, states have begun suing the department for unconstitutional breaches and power distributions. Federal judges have temporarily issued a restraining order against the DOGE on behalf of the 19 states contesting the department’s access to taxpayer information. 

While this system of checks and balances will prevail for the next 4 years, Musk will continue pushing the limits of his newfound political power and persona, built on private interests, bureaucratic mobility, and a cult-like personality.  

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This article was edited by Graham Thoresen and Emily Sauget.