What's behind Elon Musk-Donald Trump's newfound bromance

Donald Trump (L) and Elon Musk

It's a billionaire tete-a-tete that no one expected. But what's a US presidential election without some entertainment, right? On 5pm, PT (5.30am IST), Elon Musk will host a live unscripted interview with former US President Donald Trump, which, in his own words, will guarantee entertainment to those tuning in.

The interview underpins the recent bromance brewing between the two billionaires. In the last few weeks, Musk has endorsed Trump for White House and has refrained from criticising the former President's position on some issues that may even clash with the his own business interests.

For instance, days after the endorsement, a user on X asked Musk if he would comment on Trump's views on EVs. "It will be fine," Musk responded. Notably, Trump has often vowed to "end the electric vehicle mandate" and reduce subsidies.

Entertainment guaranteed! https://t.co/5oR7YLVQr6

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2024

In the past too, Musk has openly criticized Trump for dismissing the challenge of climate change and has even suggested that the former US President should retire from politics.

"I don't hate the man, but it's time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset," Musk said in a social media post in 2022.

And in 2016, before Trump became president, Musk said that he was “not the right guy” for the job and does not have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States.

The public disapproval of each other was never one-sided. On his part, Trump has also indulged in the sort of name-calling he is famous for. In 2022, Trump described Musk as a "bull---- artist".

He also said that he could have asked Musk to "drop to his knees and beg" when the SpaceX owner wanted help with subsidies, adding cheekily that he would have even done it.

But they have also sang praises for each other and supported each other on other occasions, suggesting that their denouncement are usually ephemeral.

For instance, Musk restored Trump's access to his account, @realDonaldTrump, a month after buying X.

In an interview in March 2024, Trump spoke positively about Musk, saying he’s been “friendly with him over the years,” had “helped him” when he was president, and that he “liked him.”

It's not clear exactly what is behind Musk's tilt towards the right, especially since he openly backed Joe Biden in 2020.

But his endorsement did gain steam following the attempted assassination of Trump in July. It was also revealed that Musk made donations to a super political action committee supporting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

According to a report in Reuters, Musk's willingness to overlook outright Republican opposition to the EV industry he helped pioneer signals a broader focus on goals that may not dovetail with the immediate interests of his businesses.

"Tesla is not the endgame for him," said Andrew Ward, a management professor at Lehigh University, noting Musk's holdings in sectors ranging from artificial intelligence to space exploration to neuroscience.

Musk could "sacrifice some of the short-term interest in Tesla," Ward added, "if it'll satisfy the long-term interests of his ambitions."

While the ambitious may not be clear, the signs of Musk's rightward tilt have been there for awhile now.

Since purchasing X, most of Musk's posts are sympathetic to right-wing nationalist ideas, be it his view of great replacement theory or his disdain of "woke" people.

An opinion piece on MSNBC said that Musk has material reasons to favor Trump too.

"As the richest man in the world and a tech investor who complains about taxes, he’d find the tax and regulatory environment more favorable under Trump than under Biden. As someone who owns big companies and is hostile to organized labor, he has reason to oppose Biden, whose National Labor Relations Board appointments have been good for labor power," it said.

Since SpaceX and Tesla have indeeded benefited from government contracts and subsidies, there is a strong possibility that cultivating a strong relationship with the transactional Trump can be a potentially lucrative investment for Musk.