Musk spent hundreds of millions on Trump\u2019s campaign, raising questions about whether he\u2019ll keep backing him
\n Washington
\nBillionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday said he was pulling away from spending his fortune on politics, asserting that his Tesla electric car company was doing well despite blowback due to his support of US President Donald Trump.
\n\u201cIn terms of political spending, I\u2019m going to do a lot less in the future,\u201d Musk told Bloomberg\u2019s Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, speaking by video link from Austin, Texas.
\nMusk, the richest person on Earth, spent hundreds of millions of dollars on Trump\u2019s political campaign, and questions were rife in Washington whether his largesse would continue.
\n\u201cIf I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I don\u2019t currently see a reason,\u201d he said in the often tense interview.
\nThe comments will trigger speculation that the close relationship between Trump and Musk may be shifting as the Tesla tycoon steps away from his full-time role as cost-cutting chief for the US administration.
\nMusk confirmed that he has reduced his role as the unofficial head of the administration\u2019s \u201cDepartment of Government Efficiency,\u201d working there now just two days a week.
\nTesla, which is the major source of Musk\u2019s wealth, has suffered significant brand damage due to his political work, particularly with Trump. He has also expressed support for the far-right anti-immigration AfD party in Germany.
\nSince Trump took office, Tesla dealerships have become scenes of protest and vandalism in the United States and beyond.
\nWhen asked if he was worried about the effects of his political positions on sales at the electric carmaker, Musk hit back to say the company was doing fine.
\nAside from a sales decline in Europe, \u201cwe\u2019re strong everywhere else,\u201d Musk said. He pointed to the performance of Tesla\u2019s shares on Wall Street as a sign that the company was on good footing.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re now back over a trillion dollars in market cap, so clearly, the market is aware of the situation, so (Tesla) is already turned around,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Musk spent hundreds of millions on Trump\u2019s campaign, raising questions about whether he\u2019ll keep backing him Washington Billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday said he was pulling away from spending his fortune on politics, asserting that his Tesla electric car company was doing well despite blowback due to his support of US President Donald Trump. \u201cIn […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-479804","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n