Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is officially out of the federal government. In his few months there, he secured multiple business contracts with a potential for more.
Why It Matters
Musk became one of President Donald Trump‘s most ardent supporters during the 2024 campaign, making frequent appearances while donating $288 million to help Trump secure a second term. Musk’s reputation, and that of brands like Tesla, took a hit as he became a consistent figure in the White House—notably as a “special government employee” heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which intended to slash the federal government budget and countless jobs along the way.
What To Know
On his way out, Musk thanked Trump for the opportunity “to reduce wasteful spending”—even as the SpaceX CEO criticized Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” for essentially doing the opposite and increasing the national budget.
Meanwhile, among the protests against him and some violence occurring at Tesla dealerships, Musk has forged new business deals domestically and abroad.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
They include bringing his neurotechnology company, Neuralink, to the Middle East and combining his xAI and X platforms into a single entity. Other deals reportedly in the works include providing Starlink satellite internet services to companies in the Middle East and tunneling firm, the Boring Company, building a transport system underneath Dubai.
Bill George, executive fellow at Harvard Business School and former CEO of Medtronic, told Newsweek that Musk’s presence across government will hurt his business interests more than help in the long run.
“Clearly it helped him in getting contracts for SpaceX and these relationships with the moguls in the Middle East. I think he’ll come out of that well and he’ll get more opportunities,” George said. “It’s clear that he has a close relationship with the president, that you could say that he bought his way into the administration with funding for Trump’s campaign.
“But on the other hand, it’s clear that President Trump really respects and admires him, and that was capped off by, I thought, a rather embarrassing [display], creating a showroom in front of the White House with all of his Tesla’s and having the president promote them.”
Neuralink
Neuralink, founded by Musk in 2016, is launching its first clinical trial in Abu Dhabi as part of an announced partnership with local health officials and the Cleveland Clinic.
The company said the “UAE-PRIME” trial will explore how individuals with motor and speech impairment can use thought to control devices and communicate.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Starlink
During Musk’s tag-along with Trump to Saudi Arabia earlier this month, he announced that his company, SpaceX, secured approval to provide Starlink satellite internet services to local companies.
Discussions between Musk and Emirates, which runs the world’s largest international airline, aimed to enhance in-flight Wi-Fi, according to Bloomberg. Emirates has a widebody fleet of about 250 jets and more than 300 on order from Boeing Co. and Airbus SE.
A Starlink deal between Musk and South Africa is reportedly being worked behind the scenes, days after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met with Trump at the White House. The timing of the purported conversations is dubious, one South African lawmaker said, according to the Associated Press.
X and xAI
In February, Musk combined his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, with his social media platform X as part of an all-stock transaction that values the artificial intelligence company at $80 billion and X at $33 billion, according to CNBC. In 2022, Musk acquired Twitter for roughly $44 billion.
An Interesting Road Ahead
Bill George wouldn’t suggest that Trump himself led Musk into these various new business opportunities, adding, “I think it’s helped him a lot.”
“We need to look at the greater brand damage,” George said. “This stuff is just gonna have a much longer lasting impact. It is very hard to separate Elon Musk‘s brand from the brand of Tesla, and also SpaceX.”
He provided an example from his recent trip to Germany, where he says Musk and Tesla’s reputation “has just gone through the floor” in part due to Musk’s purported Nazi salutes. The Tesla brand in China also faces stiff competition, George added.
“In many states that I visited where people are picketing against Musk, in a purple state like Arizona, they’re out picketing at Tesla stores,” he said. “I mean, thousands of them. So, this has really hurt his brand and his sales. You could see it in Tesla’s sales in the first quarter. I think it will be continued in the second quarter.”
John Tamny, founder and president of the Parkview Institute, told Newsweek that there’s “no doubt” how proximity to power is meaningful in a business sense—particularly outside the U.S.
“Did he need the help? I think not,” Tamny said. “Let’s not forget that before his close ties to Trump, Musk was already the world’s richest man. That’s a door opener on its own, after which, let’s not forget that he didn’t reach the world’s richest status for lack of innovative qualities.
“Quite the opposite. Musk is a brand, which arguably indicates Musk was the loser in his dealings with Trump. While Trump could shore up his pro-business bona fides through ties to Musk, Musk suffered somewhat. That’s not a political statement; it’s just a comment that a la Michael Jordan, Democrats buy cars, too.”
What People Are Saying
Kedric Payne, Campaign Legal Center’s vice president and general counsel, and senior director, Ethics: “Musk’s brief government stint could trigger years of criminal conflict of interest liability. The ethics laws apply when a person is in government and after they leave. So, he may face investigations of whether he illegally benefited his companies with foreign deals while he was in the White House and whether he improperly lobbies the government after he leaves.
“The point is that this is just the beginning of the ethics questions that will surround Musk and his companies for years. The public has a right to know that current and former public servants comply with anti-corruption laws.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the press that “the entire Cabinet is involved” in DOGE’s mission and work.
“Each cabinet secretary at their respective agencies is committed” to the overarching goal of trimming the government and eradicating waste, she added.
What Happens Next
President Trump will lead DOGE moving forward, delegating the administration’s efforts to cut “waste, fraud and abuse” to individual Cabinet members.
