Elon Musk Describes Self as ‘Voice of Reason’ Between Silicon Valley and White House

Elon Musk considers himself a “voice of reason” in the sticky, complicated webbing that connects America’s technology industry to Donald Trump’s administration.

Most of Silicon Valley opposed Trump during his election campaign, aside from a select few notables like billionaire investor Peter Thiel, who remains a closely associated ambassador of the new President.

Musk, who runs Tesla and SpaceX, was mostly neutral (his harshest words before the election described Trump as “probably not the right guy” to lead the nation). Following Trump’s victory, however, he has leaned more on Trump’s side than not. Now he is part of the President’s advisory team and is optimistic about Trump’s term.

Tesla is big on US manufacturing, as is Trump—so it is easy to see why Musk has aligned himself so. And as tech’s most admired leader, Musk perhaps stands to sway many in Silicon Valley toward a more pro-Trump attitude.

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