Musk (left) has become Trump's most influential supporter and has also embraced his fiery rhetoric (AFP)

According to a report by the British newspaper Financial Times, the riskiest of the many bold bets that have marked the career of American billionaire and inventor Elon Musk is the one he made on former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. From satellites to electric cars, from brain chips to artificial intelligence robots, Musk owns a number of companies that rely heavily on contracts and rules set by the United States government.

But most political analysts believe the world's richest man has tied his reputation and wealth to Donald Trump's bid for the White House in an election in which he and Democratic nominee and current vice president Kamala Harris appear to be lagging behind.

I will be in the wrong place

The British newspaper referred to Musk's joke in an interview this month with Tucker Carlson, the famous former Fox TV host, in which he said of Trump: "If he loses, I'm going to be in trouble."

As the US presidential election approaches, Musk's support for the Trump campaign has grown stronger than ever. It was revealed this week that the billionaire has donated at least $75 million to America PAC, a political action group he founded in support of Trump that has already spent more than $118 million on the campaign, including ads, street signs and direct contact with voters. knocking on their door.

The newspaper reported that Musk has used his platform X (formerly Twitter) to pump out pro-Trump content, including some of the most outrageous conspiracy theories that have caught the attention of right-wing supporters. It added that Musk returned to Pennsylvania, the most important swing state in the election, on Thursday to present to voters his own arguments that make Trump the best candidate for president.

We won't get to Mars

Musk told the rally that his biggest reason for supporting the Republican nominee was the need for "common sense legislation," arguing that SpaceX could build a giant rocket faster than the government could issue the necessary licenses. "If we don't change the current approach of overregulation and overregulation, we're not going to get to Mars," he said.

The Financial Times reports that Musk, the owner of Tesla, SpaceX, XAI and X, is trying to shape the future of humanity by implanting Neuralink chips in the human brain, creating smart home robots, a driverless car for work and a rocket for colonization. Mars.

Musk appears to be banking on a Trump victory, which would give him significant influence over how the government deals with businesses. That gamble could pay off if SpaceX and its Starlink satellites win more contracts from the U.S. National Security Agency, or if Tesla can convince Republicans who are skeptical of electric cars and perhaps limit regulatory investigations into the safety of its self-driving technology.

The promise of an influential position

Under the new Trump presidency, SpaceX is unlikely to run afoul of the US administration over Musk's absolutist notion of free speech. Trump has promised that Musk will lead the "Department of Government Efficiency" if elected.

The paper recalled that Musk and Trump were previously on opposite sides of the political spectrum; while the former president often described climate change as a "hoax", Musk boasted that Tesla's mission is to "help reduce the risks of catastrophic climate change". The billionaire businessman has previously voted for Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, all of whom were Democrats.

But that has changed. In the past few months, Musk has not only become Trump's most influential supporter, but has embraced his inflammatory rhetoric, including Kamala Harris' claim that he will turn the United States into a one-party state by turning illegal immigrants into Democrats. "If Trump doesn't win, this will be the last election," Musk said Thursday.

Trevor Traina, a Trump donor who served as U.S. ambassador to Austria under the former president, says Musk is directly involved in politics for personal reasons, not business. "As the richest man in the world, Musk doesn't need anything, he just gets involved."

For Tesla, the risk of Musk's meddling in the election is that he will alienate the company's natural customers. According to the Pew Research Center, only 13% of Republicans said they would seriously consider buying an electric car, compared to 45% of Democrats.

If Trump wins

The newspaper quoted Andrew Palmer, the former CEO of Aston Martin, as saying that Musk's strategy is "high risk, high reward. If Trump wins, he'll look like a genius, and if Trump loses, he won't look smart."

But some of Musk's Silicon Valley rivals believe his goals at Tesla are long-term, saying he recognizes that his company's core business is increasingly threatened by cheaper Chinese electric cars and rapidly advancing battery technology.

But the US billionaire's support for the former president has made him a target of his rival Harris and her running mate Tim Walz. The vice president was scathing in her criticism of using his name in her campaign fundraising appeals.

At a rally of union workers in Michigan, Walz warned that Republicans only care about "their billionaire friends like Musk." "This guy wants to be our economic czar, he wants to lay off workers, he wants to bust the unions, he wants to move car manufacturing to Mexico and export them with Chinese parts," he said. But Musk insists he is acting solely out of concern for the country. "I am now a political activist," he said at Thursday's rally. "Because I believe the future of America and the future of civilization is at stake."