(Newsweek) Elon Musk has jokingly accepted a position in a future Trump cabinet, after the former president said he would “certainly” welcome the billionaire into his administration.
On Monday evening, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO took to X to write: “I am willing to serve.” The statement indicates that Musk would be open to joining the Republican candidate should he win in November, a plausible occurrence given the CEO-heavy makeup of Trump’s previous administration.
The post, viewed over 20 million times, included an AI-generated image of Musk standing before a lectern, furnished with the words “Department of Government Efficiency.”
The fictional government agency – a backronym for D.O.G.E – is a clear reference to the Shiba Inu dog meme, which has become a personal favorite of Musk in recent years.
The meme was the basis of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin, which sparked a $258 billion racketeering lawsuit against Musk, related to the frequent posts the CEO made about the currency which were accused of artificially inflating its value.
I am willing to serve pic.twitter.com/BJhGbcA2e0
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2024
The post follows an informal offer made to Musk by Trump after a campaign event in York, Pennsylvania.
Speaking to Reuters, the former president said he would be willing to offer the billionaire a cabinet position or an advisory role should he defeat Kamala Harris in November.
“He’s a very smart guy. I certainly would, if he would do it, I certainly would. He’s a brilliant guy,” Trump said.
Newsweek has contacted the Trump-Vance campaign to inquire what role Musk could take in the White House.
During the event, however, Trump flirted with ending the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles, brought in by the Biden administration as part of its 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, and touted by Tesla as an incentive for purchasing one of Musk’s vehicles.
“I’m not making any final decisions on it,” Trump said. “I’m a big fan of electric cars, but I’m a fan of gasoline-propelled cars, and also hybrids and whatever else happens to come along.”
