Former Tesla Inc. TSLA executive Rohan Patel hinted on Monday that Elon Musk‘s endorsement of former President Donald Trump for the upcoming Presidential elections is not likely to matter.
What Happened: “Generally endorsements don't matter much, with very few exceptions,” said Patel, who was Tesla’s vice president of global public policy and business development until April earlier this year.
Patel refuted a Tesla enthusiast who opined that Musk threatens Democrats’ chances of remaining in power.
For the 2019 presidential elections, Musk had endorsed Andrew Yang.
Why It Matters: Musk endorsed Trump in July and has since then been putting his weight behind the former Republican President.
Earlier this month, Trump said at the New York Economic Club that he would establish a government efficiency commission headed by Musk if he wins the election in November.
“I will create a government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for drastic reforms,” Trump said.
Musk has previously detailed the potential benefits of such a committee, including a “tremendous amount of growth and opportunity” created by deregulation and reduction of wasteful government spending.
Election Impact On Tesla, SpaceX: While Musk’s impact on the upcoming elections remains unclear, the election results are expected to impact his EV company given Trump’s open criticism of subsidies for EV makers.
"November’s presidential election could be the singular defining moment for the continued success of the (EV) industry," Rho Motion’s Automotive Lead Will Roberts said earlier this month, while also noting that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 introduced by the Biden administration greatly benefited the EV market over the past few years.
"Our scenario analysis reveals the criticality of the election – either on the brink of near unstoppable electrification of the auto industry, or a significant slowdown that leaves it lagging dangerously behind. This all depends on what happens in ballot boxes across the country in less than two months," Roberts added.
Patel has previously said that Harris would be "far better" for Tesla's core business of EVs and storage. However, it is much harder to determine who will be better on the vehicle autonomy part of the business, Patel said, while noting that neither party has been "particularly good" in their approach to autonomous vehicles (AV).
Musk, however, said during the company’s second-quarter earnings that elimination of subsidies for electric vehicles under a potential Trump administration would probably help Tesla in the long term. He also alleged that his rocket manufacturing company SpaceX will never achieve its goal of taking humans to Mars if Democrat and Vice President Kamala Harris is to win the upcoming presidential elections.
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