Elon Musk is expected to join the Trump administration. Here's how Tesla's CEO's political views align with those of the next president

For Musk, a longtime renewable energy advocate who once donated money to political candidates of both parties, the Trump alliance is part of a shift to the right (as has been the case for several other Silicon Valley elites). And Musk's comments on X and at political rallies echo many of Trump's key MAGA talking points.

But how similar are these two political partners in their political views?

Assets took a closer look at some of the key policy issues facing the next administration to see where Musk and Trump agree — and where they part ways.

immigration

positions: Seemingly aligned

John Moore-Getty Images

Trump: Trump proposes mass deportations; the end of birthright for children of undocumented parents; deportation and revocation of visas of foreign pro-Palestinian student protesters; Revocation of probation on humanitarian grounds; and adding an “ideological review.” Its only pro-immigrant policy is to automatically grant green cards to non-citizen graduates of American colleges and universities.

Musk: South African-born Musk frequently spreads anti-immigrant content on X, including conspiracies about election fraud. He has said: “As someone who is an immigrant, I am pro-immigrant, I just want to be sure that the people who come here are an asset to society.” Musk tweeted about deporting felons, it seems However, he did not expressly comment on Trump's calls for mass deportations.

Clean energy

positions: In contradiction

Patrick T Fallon-Bloomberg/Getty Images

Musk: Musk owns Tesla, the first successful mass-market electric car manufacturer. He has called renewable energy cost-effective and efficient and once suggested taxing carbon emissions. In a livestreamed conversation with Trump, Musk said solar energy could one day provide most of the Earth's energy, but cautioned against denigrating the oil and gas industry. Musk served as an economic adviser to Trump in 2016, but left the advisory board a year later after Trump decided to withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement.

Trump: For years, Trump called climate change a hoax. He largely opposes clean energy policies and is seeking to reduce regulations on oil and gas drilling and once again exclude the United States from the international Paris climate agreement. He also opposes the Biden administration's electric vehicle subsidies and vehicle efficiency rules.

abortion

positions: Somewhat aligned

Musk: Musk, who is the father of at least 11 children, is known to be a supporter of reproduction and believes that “a decline in the birth rate is the greatest threat to civilization.” He told Pennsylvania voters at a Trump rally that abortions should not be allowed if they are even possible, claiming that “at this point it is not an abortion, it is a murder.”

Trump: Trump's position on abortion has changed over the years. During his campaign in 2016, he promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who would roll back the constitutional right to abortion. And he often expressed support for a federal abortion ban by 2022, when the Supreme Court struck it down roe v. Wade. Since the SCOTUS ruling, he has shied away from taking a strong stance on the issue of a federal ban in the face of backlash, but has supported states adopting restrictive measures and voted to maintain Florida's six-week abortion ban.

Weapons

positions:Aaligned

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Trump: Trump is a friend of the National Rifle Association and has mobilized voters by claiming that Harris wants to confiscate firearms. During his time in office, he rolled back the Obama administration's rules that made it harder for people with mental illnesses to buy guns.

Musk: Musk's view is that “Once the government can disarm people, they can do whatever they want.” His America PAC petition asks voters to pledge their support for Second Amendment rights.

Tariffs

positions: Somewhat aligned

Musk: Musk has gone back and forth on the tariffs. In May, he criticized US tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. He recently said at a Trump rally that Tesla needs tariffs to compete with Chinese electric vehicle makers.

Trump: Trump has said, “The prettiest word in the dictionary is 'tariff,'” and he has used it frequently during his presidency. In his current campaign for the White House, Trump has proposed raising tariffs on Chinese imports, including cars, to 60%. He has also promised to end the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity trade deal and impose universal tariffs on most foreign imports.

Taxes

positions: Seemingly aligned

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Trump: Trump signed legislation during his presidency that cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, and he has proposed cutting it further if he wins a second term. Other tax-related ideas he has proposed include: eliminating the federal income tax on individuals; Elimination of taxes on tips and overtime pay; and repealing green energy tax credits.

Musk: While Musk hasn't commented on specific taxes, he vowed to keep the government “off your back and out of your wallet” in a recent Trump rally speech in which he referred to all government spending as “taxes.” He has offered to advise a potential Trump administration “to ensure our government operates more efficiently and uses America’s tax dollars effectively.” He has proposed cutting a third of the government's $6.75 trillion annual budget, without specifying where the cuts would come from.

Government grants

positions: Somewhat aligned

Musk: Musk once believed in a universal basic income. Now that he is the richest person in the world, he says the government should cut spending on subsidies. He recently claimed that electric vehicle subsidies represent only a small portion of Tesla's revenue and that SpaceX receives no government subsidies, although Tesla continues to advocate for government benefits.

Trump: During his time in office, Trump attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act and proposed budget cuts to food stamps, Medicaid, housing assistance and other social safety net programs. During his campaign, he promised to protect Social Security and Medicare. He also said he would reinstate the child tax credit only for single-income families and that he would eliminate spending on the Inflation Reduction Act.

Onshoring manufacturing

positions: Somewhat aligned

STR/AFP/Getty Images

Musk: Musk put plans for a gigafactory in Mexico on hold until after the election, but broke ground on a battery factory in Shanghai earlier this year. Tesla already has an automobile production facility in China, which has made its factory in Fremont, California, the company's most valuable and productive location.

Trump: Trump says high tariffs and tax breaks for companies will curb the movement of manufacturing jobs overseas. The U.S. reportedly added 414,000 manufacturing jobs under the Trump administration before the pandemic — but by the end of his term, he suffered a net loss of nearly 200,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs.

LGBTQ+ rights

positions: Seemingly aligned

Musk: This is a common topic of conversation on X for Musk. He called a California law that prevents educators from informing parents about students' gender identity “the final straw” that led him to move the headquarters of X and SpaceX to Texas, which bans gender-specific care of minors .

Trump: Trump has promised to roll back measures protecting transgender people from discrimination, including repealing protections under Title IX, the civil rights law that protects against gender discrimination in education, from day one. He also said he would limit access to gender-affirming care, for example by excluding doctors who provide transitional care from Medicare and Medicaid.

Foreign policy

positions: Somewhat aligned

Alexander Nemenov – AFP/Getty Images

Musk: Musk has come under fire over reports that he is in regular contact with Vladimir Putin. He made his Starlink internet satellites available to Ukraine at the start of the war with Russia, but reportedly refused to allow Ukraine to use the service during a surprise attack on Russian ships in 2022. Russian troops now reportedly have access to Starlink satellites, however Musk has refuted the reports. Starlink also provides internet access in Gaza and Yemen, although the company once threatened to shut down services in Sudan.

Trump: Trump has long been the focus of criticism because of his close ties to Putin. While he insisted that the war in Ukraine should end quickly, he criticized the extent of U.S. aid to Ukraine and promoted an “America First” foreign policy. In the Middle East, Trump vows an alliance with Israel and Saudi Arabia. As president, Trump launched a trade war with China and took a confrontational approach to overall relations with Beijing.

Free speech

positions: Aligned

Musk: Musk describes himself as a “free speech absolutist.” His America PAC petition also asks voters to pledge their support for unrestricted speech. Censorship was among Musk's alleged reasons for buying X for $44 billion. Since taking over X, Musk has been criticized for allowing hate speech to flourish on the platform.

Trump: Trump describes himself as a supporter of free speech, but has said he wants to make burning the American flag illegal and revoke the news media's broadcast licenses and pay damages for unfavorable reporting. Like Musk, Trump runs a social media platform, Truth Social, under the idea of ​​open discourse. But users who posted about the congressional hearings on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol were reportedly censored.

A version of this article originally published October 31st.