Elon Musk: How could the world's richest man benefit from Trump's win?

Donald Trump's return to the White House as US President has prompted much speculation about how it could benefit one of his most vocal supporters: the world's richest man, Elon Musk.

Musk spent election night with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, later posting several congratulatory messages to the 78-year-old on his social media platform X.

Trump made sure to name-check Musk during his victory speech, hailing him as a "new star" and "amazing guy".

During the final weeks of the election, Musk ramped up his support for Trump, handing out daily $1 million (£777,000) prizes to voters in key battleground states who signed his political action committee's petition backing the US Constitution.

Opponents challenged the legalities of the giveaways, although a judge later ruled they could continue.

With Trump's electoral victory confirmed, attention has now turned to how Musk could benefit from the loyalty shown to the Republican candidate. So what exactly could that look like?

A role in Trump's administration?

Former US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told ITV News that Trump could look to use Musk to "cut waste, fraud and abuse" in Washington DC.

Asked if she had any fears about the potential for Musk to influence Trump's presidency, Ms Nauert said she was not concerned.

"There are a lot of people who come in to serve a president in different capacities and I think Elon is just one of many people who would give his advice and counsel to the president," Ms Nauert said.

She added: "President Trump has already talked about him [Musk] leading an efficiency-type programme to take a look at the federal government.

"We all know governments are big, bloated bureaucracies and there are always areas where you could cut waste, fraud and abuse.

"That's commonly said here in Washington. All of those things do exist. So I think we could look for Elon to address some of those things and look for ways to cut tape.

"Regulation over the past few years under Biden [and] Harris has become really out of control, where we have our agencies and departments regulating companies in ways that have never happened before. So I think we'll start to see some of that."

Former US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert spoke to ITV News following Trump's electoral victory

How else could Musk benefit?

Shares in the electric car manufacturer Tesla - one of Musk's companies - soared as much as 14% in the immediate aftermath of Trump's electoral victory.

The firm stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration due to its size, with the expectation that subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles will be threatened.

While that would be a negative overall for the industry, it could give Tesla an advantage because of its market share.

And what about Musk's other major business interests, namely X and SpaceX?

The latter likely would not have enjoyed significantly different relations with the US federal government, regardless of who won the election.

X, meanwhile, despite facing criticism from some Democrats for spreading misinformation, is unlikely to be impacted by Trump's return to power.

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