On Aug. 19, Trump said he might tap Musk as a Cabinet member or adviser “if he would agree,” but days later he sought to downplay the possibility of the Tesla CEO joining his administration, even though he could be a useful consultant.
“He wants to be involved, but look, he’s running big businesses and all that … so he can’t really” be in the Cabinet, Trump said on the Shawn Ryan Show last week. “He can, as the expression goes, consult with the country and give you some very good ideas.”
Besides Musk, Trump’s advisers are considering other names to minimize the influence the Space X owner could have on the committee. Those names include Fred Smith, the former CEO of FedEx, and Robert Nardelli, the former CEO of Dome Depot, two people familiar with the matter told The Post, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Musk’s companies already account for a significant portion of U.S. federal spending, so his potential involvement in government could raise several conflicts of interest.
For example, Tesla has received $36 million in federal funding to install at least 328 electric vehicle charging stations, according to research firm Atlas Public Society.
In addition, Space X won a $4.4 billion NASA contract in 2021 to build a human landing system for Artemis missions to the Moon, of which it has already received $2.2 billion.
