2024-11-06 16:43:02 :
After Donald Trump was declared the new president of the United States, shares in Elon Musk’s companies began to surge due to the tech billionaire’s close ties to the Republican candidate’s presidential campaign, AFP reported.
In his victory speech, Trump generously praised Musk as a “genius,” saying: “We have a new star, a star is born: Elon. He’s an amazing person. He’s a character, He’s a special guy, he’s a super genius,” Trump said.
Investors have high expectations
To the delight of investors, Tesla shares rose more than 15% to $289.44 in after-hours trading before Wall Street opened.
“Tesla’s share price is rising… due to his special relationship with Donald Trump,” Saxo Bank analyst Andrea Tueni told AFP, adding “Trump owes him a lot, and investors are betting that their close relationship will have a positive impact on Tesla,” he said.
Musk’s role in Trump’s office
In previous indications of this, Musk claimed he could cut about $2 trillion from the U.S. government’s federal budget, Bloomberg reported.
It is worth noting that, according to Bloomberg, Trump said that if he is re-elected, he will assign Musk to establish the so-called “Government Efficiency Department”, which will study ways to reduce government spending. Interestingly, it’s abbreviated as “DOGE,” referring to the cryptocurrency that Musk often touts on social media.
Bloomberg said that according to federal investigation results, Musk spent at least $132 million to elect Trump and other Republicans in 2024, thereby pushing himself into the “senior level” of the party.
How was Musk’s trip to India?
It remains to be seen whether Musk’s abandonment of attempts to enter the Indian electric vehicle (EV) market will also gain momentum with Trump’s victory.
In May 2024, the Tesla CEO canceled a visit to India citing “onerous obligations” and said he planned to visit the country later this year. This hasn’t happened yet.
“Unfortunately, Tesla’s onerous obligations require a postponement of the visit to India, but I am very much looking forward to the visit later this year,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
It is worth mentioning that Musk will make some major announcements about India’s $2-3 billion electric vehicle factory and some developments related to Starlink. He is also expected to meet executives from several aerospace startups in Delhi.
However, Tesla’s attempts to use its existing factories to produce new and more affordable vehicles amid shrinking profit margins could lead to further delays in investments in new factories in Mexico and India.
It remains to be seen whether Trump will continue his anti-China stance – during his previous term he imposed sanctions on China – which has led Musk to look for greener pastures elsewhere, namely India.
(Based on input from each agency)
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