Elon Musk has mentioned he would work with US President Donald Trump for so long as he “can be helpful,” because the pair dismissed considerations over doable conflicts of curiosity as a result of tech tycoon’s work with the White House.
For the most recent political information, bookmark The South African website’s devoted part for free-to-read content material
“I’ll be as helpful as long as I can be helpful,” Musk mentioned when requested in a Fox News interview alongside Trump if he anticipated to work with the administration for the president’s four-year time period.
Slash spending
Trump has vowed to slash authorities spending since returning to workplace final month, with Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) tasked with finishing up that effort.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest individual and main Trump donor, has deployed huge powers granted to him by the president to restructure and dismantle federal companies.
However, the White House has mentioned Musk shouldn’t be an official worker of DOGE and has “no formal authority to make government decisions.”
The unprecedented cost-cutting drive has raised conflict-of-interest questions, provided that most of the focused companies have regulatory oversight on parts of Musk’s companies.
Trump showered reward on Musk, the pinnacle of SpaceX and Tesla, within the Fox interview excerpts aired on Wednesday, calling the billionaire “brilliant,” “honest” and a “very good, solid businessman.”
Conflicts of curiosity
He additionally dismissed considerations raised by critics that Musk has monumental conflicts of curiosity as a significant authorities contractor.
“If there’s any conflict, he will stop it. But if he didn’t, I’d stop it. I’d see if there’s a conflict,” Trump mentioned.
“We’re speaking about large stuff, however he’s beneath a reasonably large microscope. I imply, all people’s watching him.
“If there’s a conflict, you’re going to be reading about it within about two minutes after the conflict,” he mentioned.
Elon Musk mentioned DOGE was publicising its actions on its web site and that the transparency would maintain him accountable.
“The possibility of me getting away with something is zero percent,” Musk mentioned.
“I’m scrutinised to a ridiculous degree.”
Asked about Musk’s official place, Trump informed reporters at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday that the businessman was a “patriot.”
“So you know, you could call him an employee, you can call him a consultant. You can call him whatever you want. But he’s a patriot,” Trump mentioned.
How lengthy will the Elon Musk-Donald Trump ‘bromance’ final?
Let us know by leaving a remark under, or ship a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
Subscribe to The South African web site’s newsletters and comply with us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the most recent information.