Elon Musk won’t be part of a Donald Trump cabinet after all. The Republican nominee walked back his comments about considering Musk for an executive-branch role, citing Musk’s connections to X, SpaceX and Tesla and the demands they put on him.
“He wants to be involved. Now look, he’s running big businesses and all that, so he can’t, really, I don’t think he could be cabinet,” Trump said in an interview with former Navy Seal Shawn Ryan. An excerpt of this interview was published on Sunday. “I’d put him in the cabinet, absolutely, but I don’t know how he could do that with all the things he’s got going.”
Trump then said that Musk may be able to “consult” on a cabinet, pointing to artificial intelligence as an example of a subject Musk would be well-versed to consult about.
Last Monday, Trump told Reuters that he would consider putting Musk on a cabinet if Musk would be open to it. “He’s a very smart guy. I certainly would, if he would do it, I certainly would. He’s a brilliant guy,” Trump said.
These comments came after Musk publicly endorsed Trump for president last month. The X and Tesla head also suggested that the government create an “efficiency commission” during an interview with Trump earlier this month that was streamed on X. “I’d be happy to help out on such a commission,” Musk said.
Shortly after Trump first made the comments about Musk possibly taking this position, CNN broke down all the reasons why this would likely never happen. The chief reason is that it’s illegal to work on government matters that impact your own personal finances. For that reason alone, Musk — who is heavily involved in some of the biggest industries in America including technology, media, biotech and transportation — would have an incredibly difficult time working on any government project.
