Musk interviews Trump

“There are no subject limits, so it should be a lot of fun.” As Elon Musk giving his X the live interview with a former American president and Republican candidate for the White House Donald Trump scheduled for 8pm local time (2am in Italy) on the social network. The former president will be connecting from his residence in Mar a Lago while the tech billionaire will be in Austin, Texas. “If you have specific questions and comments, put them in the chat,” asked the tycoon, while Trump in a series of posts called what is presented as “the interview of the century” and it has already been the subject of a warning from the speaker. EU Commissioner for the Internal Market, British Thierry.

Musk who supported Trump immediately after the attack that the former president suffered at an election event in Pennsylvania last month. The group Reuters However, it shows the inconsistency of Musk’s position: Trump is strongly opposed to subsidies for electric cars Teslafounded twenty years ago by the billionaire entrepreneur, still in dire need. “THE loans government, the discounts Taxes and other policies that support electric vehicles have played such an important role in Tesla’s rapid growth,” he writes Reuters“despite Musk’s support for the former president and the rhetoric of the Republican Partythe company continues to lobby for the benefits requested by the Democratic Party“.

For example, in February the group filed with theUnited States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) document asking the Biden administration to allow California to adopt stricter vehicle emissions standards than the rest of the country, an idea Trump opposes. And a few months earlier he had called on the government to ban the production of most new gasoline-powered cars by 2035, the so-called “electric vehicle mandate” that Trump and other right-wing hawks have called for. to criticize. “Elon tends to say he’s hostile to subsidies, while Tesla wears them like a hungry Godzilla,” he said. Mike MurphyRepublican strategy in charge of theEV Politics Projecta lobby group in Los Angeles for electric vehicles.

It is difficult to understand, among other things, that Musk has publicly expressed himself against theInflation Reduction ActBiden’s major economic stimulus package that includes generous subsidies for clean energy including purchase incentives that can reach up to $7,500 per car, depending on the buyer’s income. Tesla expects to earn up to $250 million per quarter.

How to explain the political position of the founder? Three former Tesla employees told Reuters that behind the apparent contradictions is a conflict “between ideology and pragmatism”. As a free market advocate, Musk naturally opposes government intervention. However, when the State provides a river of money, Tesla can’t help but take advantage of it. We will see if and how the topic of subsidies will be addressed in the interview with Trump.