Elon Musk quickly accepts Donald Trump's big Cabinet role offer, says 'I am willing to serve'
Chandigarh, August 19
Billionaire Elon Musk was quick to accept the former US president Donald Trump’s big role in a cabinet or advisory.
“I am willing to serve,” wrote Elon Musk on X.
Trump on Monday said that if elected he would consider ending a $7,500 tax credit for electric-vehicle purchases and that he would be open to naming Tesla CEO Elon Musk to a cabinet or advisory role.
Heaping praise on Elon, Trump said: "He's a very smart guy. I certainly would, if he would do it, I certainly would. He's a brilliant guy,"
Musk had last month publicly endorsed Donald Trump in the US presidential race.
Trump said on Monday that if elected he would consider ending a $7,500 tax credit for electric-vehicle purchases and that he would be open to naming Tesla CEO Elon Musk to a cabinet or advisory role.
"Tax credits and tax incentives are not generally a very good thing," Trump told Reuters in an interview after a campaign event in York, Pennsylvania, when asked about the EV credit.
Asked if he would consider naming Musk to an advisory role or cabinet job, Trump said he would. "He's a very smart guy. I certainly would, if he would do it, I certainly would. He's a brilliant guy," Trump said.
If elected, Trump could take steps to reverse Treasury Department rules that have made it easier for automakers to take advantage of the $7,500 credit or could ask the U.S. Congress to repeal it entirely. While president, Trump sought to repeal the EV tax credit which was later expanded by President Joe Biden in 2022.
"I'm not making any final decisions on it," Trump said of the EV tax credit. "I'm a big fan of electric cars, but I'm a fan of gasoline-propelled cars, and also hybrids and whatever else happens to come along."
He added that he would rescind the Biden administration rules that will prod automakers to build more EVs and plug-in hybrids to meet stricter emissions standards and said he sees a "much smaller market" for EVs because of cost and battery range issues.
Separately, Trump harshly criticized Alphabet's Google but declined to say if he thought the technology company should be broken up after a judge ruled this month that Google was an illegal monopoly.
"They're almost like the Wild West," Trump said of Google, without elaborating on what penalty it should face. "They're going to have to pay a great price."
Trump has previously said he would prevent short video app TikTok from being banned despite a law approved in April that sets a deadline of Jan. 19, 2025, for Chinese owner ByteDance to divest TikTok's U.S. assets. Asked if he could accept continued Chinese ownership of TikTok, Trump did not directly answer but said ByteDance might sell.
With Reuters inputs
