How Elon Musk could shape Donald Trump's next four years as president

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Updated  November 6, 2024 9:16pm EST
FOX 35 Orlando
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How Elon Musk could shape Donald Trump's next term

Experts are weighing in on whether Elon Musk will play a role in President-Elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The founder of SpaceX campaigned hard for the former president, and Trump even highlighted him during his acceptance speech on Wednesday morning.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - Experts are weighing in on whether Elon Musk will play a role in President-Elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House. 

The founder of SpaceX campaigned hard for the former president, and Trump even highlighted him during his acceptance speech on Wednesday morning. 

Space experts say they’re waiting to see whether Musk will be selected for a cabinet position.

Many are wondering if the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will be restructured to increase how often companies can launch rockets or even play a role in reshaping NASA’s return to the moon.

From the launch pad, to helping launch Trump back to the White House, Musk was a big name this election season. 

"We have a new star. A star is born: Elon," said Trump, praising Musk after earning enough Electoral College votes to claim victory in Tuesday's election. 

"He’s a character. He’s a special guy. He’s a super genius. We have to protect our geniuses," said Trump. 

Musk campaigned for Trump for two weeks in Pennsylvania. Now, space experts are wondering if the space giant will play a role in his administration.

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"He’s got Elon clearly on his team, being a big part of the campaign. He’s talked about Elon helping revitalize efficiency of the government," said Zac Aubert, who founded The Launch Pad. 

Aubert thinks Musk will take a hard look at the FAA.

"The FAA’s been around for decades, and the industry’s changed in the last five years, let alone the last 40 years," he said. "There’s definitely going to be changes there that have to happen."

Aubert also thinks NASA’s Artemis program could change when Trump takes office.

"Artemis is way over budget, late, really expensive. Does that fall into ‘Do we change that program for more government efficiency?’ Does money go more into the private sector with Starship?" he concluded. 

In Trump’s roughly 20-minute presidential election victory speech, he spent a quarter of that time talking about Starship and Starlink satellites, praising Elon’s technology. 

The president is making the space industry a big focus for his next term in office.

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