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Elon Musk says he won’t be joining a potential second Donald Trump administration. But he’s been talking a lot with the former president.
“I have had some conversations with him and he does call me out of the blue — for no reason,” Musk said Thursday at Tesla’s annual meeting of shareholders, where investors approved his $56 billion pay package. “ I don’t know why,” but he does.”
In recent weeks, Musk has been reported to have a closer relationship with the ex-president, talking with him “several times a month” about topics like the U.S. Space Force — which Trump created — and immigration. Musk has also counseled Trump on cryptocurrency policy and a potential advisory role if he wins a second term in November, as well as electric vehicles, Bloomberg News reported. The Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder has denied the report.
On Thursday, Musk said Trump is “very nice” when they speak and that he told Trump EVs are good for the future, pointing to the U.S. being a leader in the industry.
“A lot of his friends now have Teslas, and they all love it, and he’s a huge fan of the Cybertruck,” Musk said. “So I think maybe those are contributing factors.”
The Cybertruck, an electric pickup, has become a status symbol of tech entrepreneurs and, more broadly, wealthy individuals. As of April, less than 4,000 have been sold, although Musk on Thursday said Tesla had reached a production record of 1,300 per week.
Despite recent comments praising Musk — including in a sit-down interview with YouTuber Logan Paul, where he called him a “spectacular guy” — Trump has taken a hard-line stance against EVs. In the past, he has claimed electric cars will “kill” the U.S. auto industry, called them an “assassination” of jobs, and said imported EVs from Mexico will cause a “blood bath.”
While meeting with Congressional Republicans Thursday, he promised to reverse Biden administration policies promoting EVs as he continues to court the oil lobby. Senate Democrats are investigating Trump’s comments to oil executives promising to roll back President Joe Biden’s pro-environment policies in return for help fundraising.
“I’m a big fan of electric cars. I’m a big fan of Elon Musk. I like Elon,” Trump said last week in Arizona. “And I think a lot of people are going to want to buy electric cars, but if you want to buy a different type of car you have to have a choice.”