“I believe he realized that what large tech firms spent a long time involved about, which is actually methods to average or methods to set up speech on this loopy scale, is that is not an issue,” says Magalhaes. “That is a possibility for him.”
Because the election, Musk has not light into the shadows, content material with backroom conferences and covert affect. As a substitute, he has joined calls with overseas leaders, weighed in on staffing picks for the brand new administration, and threatened to make use of America PAC to fund major challenges towards lawmakers who don’t assist Trump’s (and his) agenda.
In November, Trump introduced that Musk would colead a brand new federal advisory committee referred to as the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE, just like the memecoin), chargeable for reducing $2 trillion from the federal price range. (Eliminating all discretionary federal spending, together with on protection, wouldn’t obtain this purpose.) The committee doesn’t but exist, however already Musk has used his presence on X and this new government-adjacent, if nebulous, place to dictate coverage. Maybe not coincidentally, on paper, his estimated wealth reportedly elevated by about $170 billion following the election.
“He is parlayed [his ownership of X] right into a governmental place the place his skill to affect coverage that impacts all of his enterprise pursuits is simply super. And that might pay big monetary dividends,” says Phil Napoli, a professor of public coverage at Duke College. “I believe that might be the scariest factor that might occur, is that if numerous these platforms take that sign from Musk.”
The early returns recommend that different tech leaders are more likely to comply with go well with. Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos have visited Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring. Meta officers say Zuckerberg desires to take an “energetic function” in serving to form the Trump administration’s tech insurance policies.
“Each time there is a new authorities, large capitalism, large cash, tries to place themselves ready to profit from it. And I believe that is what they’re doing,” says Magalhaes. And Musk’s use of X for explicitly political functions may induce the Trump administration to count on comparable behaviors from different firms, he says. “I believe in that sense it’s a blueprint.”
Musk’s ambitions are clearly not restricted to the US. Because the election he has visited the UK to satisfy with far-right politicians there and posted about his assist for the far-right Germany occasion, Various for Germany. Earlier this 12 months he tried to defy a courtroom order in Brazil that required X to take away sure far-right accounts that the courtroom stated had been undermining the integrity of the nation’s elections.
All of which means that Musk’s management over politics isn’t only a matter of his closeness to Trump. Even ought to the 2 titanic egos have a much-predicted blowup, Musk’s affect might be felt within the new coziness between Silicon Valley and the MAGA motion, and in no matter elements of the world on which he chooses to solid a watch.
In a means, it’s a return to acquainted floor. Even earlier than shopping for Twitter in 2022, Musk was an excellent consumer, one of many platform’s most adopted individuals. His Tweets may have an effect on inventory costs for his different firms, significantly Tesla, and his favored memecoin, Dogecoin. Trump, equally, was an energetic Twitter consumer earlier than turning into president, and through his first presidency he was infamous for making coverage by tweet. It now seems that the subsequent 4 years, at the least, may see extra governance by social media put up—now simply by a distinct shitposter.