[Elon Musk’s Rivalries and Influence in the Trump Administration
Elon Musk has long been known for his competitive spirit and list of rivals. He has challenged Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg to a cage fight, called Amazon and Blue Origin boss Jeff Bezos a “copycat,” and recently sued OpenAI’s Sam Altman. Now, with his new influence in the incoming Trump administration and position as “first buddy,” some fear he could use the power of the government to benefit his own companies and harm his rivals.
Musk’s feud with Bezos is particularly noteworthy, as both men compete against each other in the “richest person in the world” rankings and in the space industry. Musk’s SpaceX and Bezos’ Blue Origin compete for federal government contracts, and some wonder whether Musk will use his influence to further entrench SpaceX’s already dominant position as a government contractor.
In addition to his rivalry with Bezos, Musk has also been at odds with OpenAI’s Sam Altman. Musk first sued OpenAI in February, accusing the company of abandoning its original, non-profit mission by reserving some of its most advanced AI technology for private customers. Musk has advocated for “open source” artificial intelligence systems and has publicly released the code behind the chatbot Grok made by his own company, xAI.
Musk’s influence in the Trump administration could also be used to disadvantage OpenAI and other companies that are rivals to his own. He could, for example, push for the government to work with and grant lucrative contracts to “open source” AI companies like his own over rivals such as OpenAI and Microsoft. Such a move could also benefit Meta, which has open-sourced its Llama model and whose CEO, Zuckerberg, has been seeking to improve his relationship with Trump.
Some experts believe that Musk’s influence in the Trump administration could be used to harm his rivals and benefit his own companies. For example, Musk could use his position to push for government investigations into the safety of Tesla’s autonomous driving technology to disappear, or to support Tesla competitors. However, others believe that Musk will use his influence to advocate for changes that could benefit his competitors as well, and that a “rising tide lifts all boats” in the space industry.
Regardless of how Musk’s influence is used, it is clear that his relationships with Trump and other key figures in the administration will have a significant impact on the tech industry. Musk’s ability to shape policy and make decisions that affect his rivals and competitors will be closely watched, and his actions will likely have far-reaching consequences for the industry as a whole.
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