Washington is not X. In the cozy corridors of the Capitol, Elon Musk’s provocations hardly arouse enthusiasm. After months of perfect understanding with Donald Trump, Musk does not realize that a storm is forming above his head. The boss of SpaceX and Tesla has been playing a dangerous game for several weeks. His first misstep? Have not changed anything in his behavior on social networks. On X, where he has a much larger audience than the heads of state, Elon Musk has made many shocking political declarations. Again on January 2, he accused Keir Starmer’s British government of running a “tyrannical police state”, calling for it to be brought out through “new elections”.
The Trump ally also gave vocal support to Germany’s far-right AfD party two months before the parliamentary elections, calling Chancellor Olaf Scholz an “anti-democratic tyrant.” Staggering statements given the political stature that Donald Trump has given him. “That a figure close to the president leads a shadow foreign policy can have serious consequences. Foreign leaders will legitimately wonder who really speaks in the name of the United States,” David Dayen, executive director of the review, confides to L’Express left The American Prospect.
Elon Musk doesn’t just care about international politics. A few days before Christmas, the Republicans discovered, shocked, the extent of his influence. While they had negotiated a bipartisan agreement extending federal government funding until March, the billionaire torpedoed their text on X, publishing more than 150 furious messages in one day. A blower which had very concrete repercussions, Elon Musk being followed by 200 million subscribers. “All of our offices have been inundated with calls from our constituents,” admits Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty, at the microphone of CNN.
Elon Musk targeted by Maga supporters
Forced to backtrack, the Republicans managed at the last minute to find a new agreement with the Democrats. Who are not deprived of talking about the influence of “President Musk”. “No, he will not be president […]. He cannot be, he was not born in this country,” replied Donald Trump during a meeting, affirming “to be calm.” The fact that he reacts to this controversy nevertheless shows to what extent this supposition irritates him.
Elon Musk would do well to take note of this. Especially since other obstacles handicap him: his concerns as a digital entrepreneur frequently pit him against the Maga base. Like all the bosses of the “Valley”, Elon Musk is very favorable to the H-1B permit for qualified immigrants. Which greatly displeases certain figures in the Trump camp such as Laura Loomer or Matt Gaetz. Steve Bannon, the president-elect’s former strategist, even accused the H-1B visa of being a “scam by Silicon Valley oligarchs to take jobs from American citizens.”
The question of decoupling the United States from China “could also cause friction”, observes Giorgos Verdi, policy officer at the European Council on Foreign Relations. The adoption of a firm line towards the second world power now has consensus in Washington. Donald Trump is the one who blacklisted the giant Huawei. Joe Biden, for his part, has tightened sanctions on China, depriving the country of cutting-edge semiconductors. “The idea of not encouraging the capabilities of a potential adversary emerged in the 1980s. But the subject really gained importance in the 2010s,” explains Mathilde Velliet, researcher at the French Institute of Relations. international.
Like many tech moguls, Elon Musk has major economic interests in China. It is Tesla’s second largest market, and the Shanghai factory is its largest production site. The fact that the bipartisan deal he fiercely opposed in December contained a provision that would have more strictly controlled U.S. investments in China and that it was missing from the new version raised eyebrows among Democrats. The future Trump administration also promises to be the most anti-China in history, with hawks such as Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz in its ranks. If Donald Trump sings the praises of Elon Musk today, he will not forever agree with him against his own camp.
.