Elon Musk went all-in to elect Trump. What a second Trump presidency could mean for big tech

SAN FRANCISCO — On predetermination night, arsenic Republican Donald Trump inched person to reclaiming the U.S. presidency, immoderate tech executives and task capitalists rejoiced.

“The radical of America gave @realDonaldTrump a crystal wide mandate for alteration tonight,” Elon Musk posted connected his societal media level X, formerly known arsenic Twitter.

The eccentric billionaire, who shared a Photoshopped representation of himself carrying a descend into the Oval Office, has been a vocal protagonist of Trump, who defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to triumph the White House.

The 2024 U.S. statesmanlike predetermination has been a chaotic ride, highlighting a disagreement betwixt task capitalists and tech executives — immoderate of whom spent millions of dollars backing Trump portion others poured wealth into Harris’ campaign. Both sides argued the candidates they enactment would payment the tech industry.

Box Chief Executive Aaron Levie, who backed Harris and made the lawsuit the Democrat is pro-business, congratulated Trump connected his triumph precocious Tuesday night. “What’s large astir America is that we’re connected a rocket vessel close present and tin support accelerating with the close policies and execution,” Levie posted connected X.

Musk stands to payment from a 2nd Trump presidency. He runs companies specified arsenic Tesla and SpaceX that clasp billions of dollars successful authorities contracts, but has besides clashed with regulators. Trump said helium would marque Musk the caput of a caller “government ratio commission,” sparking concerns astir imaginable conflicts of interest. Once captious of policies that payment electrical vehicles, Trump softened his code aft Musk endorsed him.

Trump‘s and Harris’ campaigns didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Here’s however a Trump presidency could reshape the tech industry:

Artificial intelligence

Trump plans to repeal President Biden’s 2023 AI enforcement order, which aims to guarantee businesses make exertion responsibly due to the fact that helium thinks it hinders innovation.

“In its place, Republicans enactment AI Development rooted successful Free Speech and Human Flourishing,” according to a document that outlines policies helium supports.

There volition astir apt beryllium immoderate signifier of AI regularisation nether Trump, analysts say, but precisely what that volition look similar is unclear.

“Knowing what you’re going to beryllium dealing with truly matters for the concern community,” said Todd O’Boyle, elder manager of exertion argumentation with the Chamber of Progress, a tech manufacture advocacy group. “We are entering truly uncharted waters.”

Under Trump, determination could beryllium “rejuvenated interest” for authorities AI regulation, helium said.

In California, lawmakers projected a slew of AI-related bills this twelvemonth and O’Boyle expects that volition continue. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 1047, a hotly contested measure that aimed to necessitate developers of precocious AI models to follow information measures.

Trump could marque a large propulsion into AI innovation, analysts say. As the usage of AI successful the subject rises, Trump’s run says helium would “invest successful cutting borderline probe and precocious technologies” successful portion to modernize the military, which would payment tech firms specified arsenic Palantir and Anduril Industries.

Palmer Luckey, who founded Anduril Industries and supports Trump, urged his followers connected X to “Pokemon Go to the polls.” As Trump moved person to triumph connected predetermination night, Luckey posted a photograph of Pokémon quality Ash Ketchum with a teardrop (apparently of joy) streaming down his face.

“When it comes to AI, what volition regularisation is, if there’s wealth to beryllium made, it’ll beryllium supported,” said Olaf Groth, module subordinate astatine UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and main enforcement of deliberation vessel Cambrian Futures.

Trump could besides punish companies that transverse him.

His run has said helium would walk a integer measure of rights and authorities to “drastically bounds the quality of large societal media platforms to restrict escaped speech.” Trump, who operates his ain his ain societal media platform, Truth Social, has been captious of Facebook’s genitor institution Meta Platforms and Google, accusing them of censoring his speech, allegations they deny.

Citing contention with China, Trump has projected imposing tariffs truthful businesses prioritize American suppliers. In the past, tech titans specified arsenic Apple that trust heavy connected China to manufacture products specified arsenic the iPhone and the Apple Watch person managed to get tariffs waived.

O’Boyle said that the tech manufacture is “tariffs skeptical.”

“Tariffs are a taxation connected consumers,” O’Boyle said. “It’s hard to spot however tariffs are going to code the economical challenges successful the country. Tariffs dilatory trade. They make friction to trade.”

Cryptocurrency

Some of Trump’s vocal supporters see investors and twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who co-founded cryptocurrency speech Gemini, and person accused the Biden medication of trying to destruct their industry.

A Trump presidency is simply a “huge triumph for crypto,” said Daniel Ives, a managing manager astatine Wedbush Securities.

The Biden medication has projected tax reporting requirements for cryptocurrency brokers and issued an enforcement bid successful 2022 to ace down connected cryptocurrency scams, fraud and theft. The enforcement bid besides mentions exploring the instauration of a integer U.S. dollar.

In his argumentation document, Trump’s run signaled helium would beryllium much affable toward the cryptocurrency manufacture and rotation backmost the Biden’s administrations actions. Republicans reason the instauration of a integer U.S. dollar.

“To the grade that the Biden medication was skeptical of fintech and crypto, it’s a tenable stake that the Trump medication volition reverse immoderate fintech and crypto skeptical policies that the Biden medication stood up,” O’Boyle said.

Antitrust and TikTok

U.S. regulators person been trying to rein successful the powerfulness of tech heavyweights specified arsenic Meta, Amazon and Google, which the U.S. authorities is considering breaking up aft a national justice declared that the hunt elephantine has an amerciable monopoly connected search.

For each his concerns astir the powerfulness of tech companies, Trump signaled he’s wary astir breaking up Google. In an October interview moderated by Bloomberg News, Trump said helium would “do something” but stopped abbreviated of saying helium would interruption up the hunt giant.

“It’s a precise unsafe happening due to the fact that we privation to person large companies,” helium said. “We don’t privation China to person these companies. Right now, China is acrophobic of Google.”

Some tech manufacture observers expect that Trump volition sanction a caller Federal Trade Commission chair, pushing Lina Khan retired of the role.

The erstwhile Trump medication pushed for Chinese tech institution ByteDance to merchantability TikTok owed to the U.S. government’s information concerns with the fashionable video app’s ties to China. Trump, who has raised escaped code concerns astir banning TikTok, mightiness beryllium unfastened to allowing the tech level to enactment successful the U.S. truthful it tin vie with Google and Meta, analysts say.

“The irony is, adjacent though Trump started the TikTok prohibition narrative, he’s changed his tune importantly and would really enactment TikTok wrong the U.S. with restrictions, and immoderate speech of a prohibition would really dissipate for TikTok,” Ives said.

In a video posted connected societal media successful September, Trump said, “We’re not doing thing with TikTok.”