Elon Musk joins Donald Trump’s advisory council despite critical comments on President-elect
Tesla exec backed Hillary Clinton during election
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Elon Musk has joined Donald Trump’s advisory council despite having dismissed Mr Trump as “not the right man for the job” during the election.
The President-elect’s transition team announced the appointment of the Tesla executive alongside Travis Kalanick, the chief executive of Uber, on Wednesday.
Musk’s appointment comes weeks after he warned the election is not “the finest moment in our democracy in general”.
He was unconcerned about how the billionaire business magnate’s ascension to the White House would affect Tesla, but told CNBC he believed Hillary Clinton’s economic and environmental policies were “the right ones”. Mr Trump was elected four days later.
“I feel a bit stronger that he is not the right guy,” he said later. “He doesn't seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States.”
Musk and a number of Silicon Valley elites will meet with Mr Trump today to discuss how his administration will affect technology companies.
Kalanick, who joked about moving to China if Mr Trump did win the election, will not be in attendance because he is travelling. The session was co-organised by Mr Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Leading figures such as Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg are expected to attend the meeting at Trump Towers in New York. Ms Clinton enjoyed widespread support from Silicon Valley during her campaign, as did President Obama before her, and members have rallied against Mr Trump's anti-immigration comments.
More than 580 employees from technology companies including Twitter and Google have signed an open letter pledging not to help build the Muslim registry posited by Mr Trump during his campaign.
Their letter reads: “We are choosing to stand in solidarity with Muslim Americans, immigrants, and all people whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by the incoming administration’s proposed data collection policies. We refuse to build a database of people based on their Constitutionally-protected religious beliefs. We refuse to facilitate mass deportations of people the government believes to be undesirable.“
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments