Could Elon Musk Become the Deal-Maker in Trump’s New Administration?

Musk's movements, closely aligned with President-elect Donald Trump, seem to symbolize his growing role in the political and economic deals Trump plans to pursue during his upcoming four-year term.

Before Trump (78) officially enters the White House on January 20, 2025, Elon Musk (53) appears to be maneuvering early and discreetly to implement Trump’s policies, testing the waters on a range of sensitive issues.

‘The First Deals’

Musk, who spent election night with Trump at his Florida club on November 5, 2024, has been tasked, alongside businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, with leading a newly created government efficiency ministry to reduce waste.

Having become a major ally during the campaign, Musk contributed approximately $119 million to a political action committee backing Trump’s bid for victory, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

In a clear sign of Trump's confidence in the world’s richest man, Tesla CEO and owner of the popular social platform X, The New York Times revealed on November 14, 2024, that Musk met with Iran's UN Ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, in an effort to ease tensions between Tehran and Washington.

Two Iranian officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss policy publicly, described the meeting as “positive” and “good news.”

The meeting between Musk and Saeid Iravani, held on November 12, 2024, lasted more than an hour and was held at a secret location where the Iranian ambassador encouraged Musk to seek exemptions from U.S. sanctions and consider doing business in Tehran, according to the officials.

This meeting sends an early signal that Trump is serious about engaging in dialogue with Iran, rather than sticking to the more hardline approach favored by many conservatives in his Republican Party and by “Israel.”

One of the Iranian officials told the New York Times that it was Musk who had requested the meeting and that the ambassador picked the site.

Iran's acceptance of Musk as a key figure in Trump's incoming administration for preliminary consultations underscores his close relationship with the president-elect and his ability to broker deals that would secure approval from the new White House leader.

This comes despite intense U.S. pressure on Iran during Trump’s first term (2017-2021), including his 2018 withdrawal from the nuclear deal brokered by his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy followed, forcing countries to stop buying Iranian oil, alongside his 2020 order for the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.

Given that Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has expressed openness to a new relationship with the U.S., Trump positions himself as the “deal maker.”

Some analysts believe Trump’s table holds “negative files” regarding Iran, and Tehran seeks to reach agreements on them. “Israel,” which has threatened to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, is supportive of Trump’s return to power.

“He’s now engaging the Iranians,” said Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, about Musk. “And the Iranians have not engaged Americans in direct negotiations since before Trump left the nuclear deal, so this could be a very big deal.”

“Whether America can have successful negotiations with Iran under Trump really will have to do with Musk or whoever is going to lead these negotiations, and a team that is dedicated to a negotiating process, that is willing to do the hard work that actual diplomatic process and international relations entails,” Toossi told The Guardian.

Elon Musk, worth $264 billion, has been a key supporter of Trump’s return to office.

Musk seemed on standby, using his platform X to post an image of himself holding a sink inside the White House, signaling that he is now part of the new administration and ready to serve.

Trump publicly praised Musk’s efforts during the campaign. At the election night event in Florida, Musk was the guest of honor, had a private conversation with Trump, and received a shoutout during the president-elect's speech to supporters.

The Rise of Influence

The conversation between billionaire Elon Musk and the Iranian official highlighted Musk's growing influence in the incoming U.S. administration, particularly on foreign policy.

Before this meeting, Musk had joined President-elect Trump in a phone call on November 8, 2024, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is concerned about any deal between Trump and Putin that could benefit Moscow.

Sources who spoke to The Washington Post and Axios said Zelensky felt the call was positive. One source from Axios noted that the call did not leave Zelensky feeling hopeless, and he thanked Musk for the Starlink satellites he provided to Ukraine through his SpaceX company.

In October 2024, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) revealed that Musk had been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022. 

“Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a linchpin of U.S. space efforts, has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022,” as per WSJ.

The discussions, confirmed by several current and former U.S., European, and Russian officials, “touch on personal topics, business and geopolitical tensions.”

While Trump spoke with Putin up to seven times since leaving the White House in 2021, the most recent was in 2024, according to Bob Woodward's new book War.

Before Trump’s win, Musk stated he could identify “at least $2 trillion” in cuts from the federal government’s $6.75 trillion budget. However, Scott Bessent, the founder of hedge fund Key Square Management, paints a grimmer picture. 

The 62-year-old investor, whose name has been floated as a potential U.S. Treasury Secretary in a second Trump administration, contends that the economy is in dire straits.

“I’m not sure how they’ve gotten to that number,” Bessent told Forbes. “But I look at the way he runs his companies. He runs them pretty well.”

Notably, as an external advisor to the federal government, Musk won’t need to divest or step down from any positions in private companies.

This means Musk can continue operating normally as CEO and the largest individual shareholder of Tesla, a $1 trillion electric vehicle company, SpaceX, a $210 billion aerospace and communications company, and X.AI, a $40 billion AI startup.

Personal Ambition

On a personal level, Musk has aspirations to further enhance his wealth. He aims to shape his image among Americans as a political and economic figure, likening himself to Trump.

As the wealthy businessman increasingly engages in politics, his industrial empire might find itself in a position reminiscent of the “golden age,” when industrial giants like J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller wielded vast influence over government policy, benefiting their businesses and fortunes.

Musk's growing power has excited his supporters, who see the government as an obstacle to his high-tech operations.

As the CEO of Tesla and X, Musk will also lead a “comprehensive audit” of the U.S. administration, aiming for a radical overhaul—an endeavor embraced by the world's wealthiest figures.

Tesla's fortunes could fluctuate depending on Trump's handling of various support policies and regulatory plans related to electric and self-driving cars.

For Tesla, Musk's goals include persuading the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the primary federal regulatory agency for safety, to delay potential enforcement actions regarding the safety of Tesla's current driver assistance systems, known as Autopilot and Full Self-Driving.

As such, Musk's primary focus over the next four years will be on removing regulatory constraints.

Meanwhile, Musk's company SpaceX, which currently leads the world in government-funded rocket launches, plans to invest $1.5 billion in Vietnam. The country seeks to enhance its appeal to global investments.

In his brain chip startup, Neuralink, Musk has expressed frustration that U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval processes have slowed the company's efforts to implant the devices in humans.

Musk's business interests - from Tesla electric vehicles to SpaceX rockets and Neuralink brain chips - depend heavily on government regulation, subsidies, or policy.

“Elon Musk sees all regulations as getting in the way of his businesses and innovation,” said one former top SpaceX official who spoke to Reuters anonymously. 

“He sees the Trump administration as the vehicle for getting rid of as many regulations as he can, so he can do whatever he wants, as fast as he wants.”