“I feel he realized that what large tech corporations spent a long time involved about, which is basically learn how to reasonable or learn how to set up speech on this loopy scale, is that is not an issue,” says Magalhaes. “That is a possibility for him.”
Because the election, Musk has not light into the shadows, content material with backroom conferences and covert affect. As an alternative, he has joined calls with international leaders, weighed in on staffing picks for the brand new administration, and threatened to make use of America PAC to fund major challenges in opposition to lawmakers who don’t assist Trump’s (and his) agenda.
In November, Trump introduced that Musk would colead a brand new federal advisory committee referred to as the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE, just like the memecoin), answerable for reducing $2 trillion from the federal finances. (Eliminating all discretionary federal spending, together with on protection, wouldn’t obtain this goal.) The committee doesn’t but exist, however already Musk has used his presence on X and this new government-adjacent, if nebulous, place to dictate coverage. Maybe not coincidentally, on paper, his estimated wealth reportedly elevated by about $170 billion following the election.
“He is parlayed [his ownership of X] right into a governmental place the place his potential to affect coverage that impacts all of his enterprise pursuits is simply large. And that would pay large monetary dividends,” says Phil Napoli, a professor of public coverage at Duke College. “I feel that might be the scariest factor that would occur, is that if a variety of these platforms take that sign from Musk.”
The early returns counsel that different tech leaders are prone to comply with swimsuit. Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos have visited Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring. Meta officers say Zuckerberg needs to take an “energetic position” in serving to form the Trump administration’s tech insurance policies.
“Each time there is a new authorities, large capitalism, large cash, tries to place themselves able to profit from it. And I feel that is what they’re doing,” says Magalhaes. And Musk’s use of X for explicitly political functions may induce the Trump administration to count on comparable behaviors from different corporations, he says. “I feel in that sense it’s a blueprint.”
Musk’s ambitions are clearly not restricted to the US. Because the election he has visited the UK to satisfy with far-right politicians there and posted about his assist for the far-right Germany get together, Various for Germany. Earlier this 12 months he tried to defy a court docket order in Brazil that required X to take away sure far-right accounts that the court docket stated had been undermining the integrity of the nation’s elections.
All of which means that Musk’s management over politics isn’t only a matter of his closeness to Trump. Even ought to the 2 titanic egos have a much-predicted blowup, Musk’s affect will likely be felt within the new coziness between Silicon Valley and the MAGA motion, and in no matter components of the world on which he chooses to forged an eye fixed.
In a means, it’s a return to acquainted floor. Even earlier than shopping for Twitter in 2022, Musk was a brilliant person, one of many platform’s most adopted folks. His Tweets may have an effect on inventory costs for his different corporations, significantly Tesla, and his favored memecoin, Dogecoin. Trump, equally, was an energetic Twitter person earlier than changing into president, and through his first presidency he was infamous for making coverage by tweet. It now seems that the subsequent 4 years, at the very least, may see extra governance by social media submit—now simply by a unique shitposter.