What if Elon Musk Actually Did Become Secretary of Transportation?
White supremacists proposed it, but what would it actually look like?
Hate groups have received a fair bit of media attention due to Donald Trump’s bid for the White House, and this week, a group of angry victimized white dudes who call themselves the American Freedom Party floated a list of names who they’d have make up President Trump’s cabinet. One name sticks out: Elon Musk.
The group has been a vocal proponent of Trump’s campaign, offering its support for both Trump and his supporters. They also believe that diversity is a codeword for white genocide. And they put Musk in the Secretary of Transportation spot.
“Mr. Musk is such a leading figure in industry, engineering and transportation (both on earth and in space) that every president should seek his advice and service,” the endorsement reads. (For the record: No, SpaceX hasn’t donated to any presidential candidates, Musk recently tweeted.)
While Musk and SpaceX have donated to both Republicans and Democrats in the past, don’t hold your breath waiting for him to comment on the proposal made by a white supremacist group.
None of this is to suggest that Musk might make for a bad Secretary of Transportation. His clear conflicts of interests aside, he would certainly continue the forward-thinking ideas (see: the Smart Cities Challenge) put forth by the Anthony Foxx, the current Secretary of Transportation. President Trump or not, here’s how it might play out with Secretary Elon:
Musk might use his political clout to make changes to America’s path to space. After all, SpaceX is already involved with NASA. Allowing Musk the bully pulpit might shift the focus.
Tesla might also be able to find its way to profitability. With Musk in the government driver’s seat, would the next president make his or her Tesla part of the official motorcade? It’d certainly be a strong endorsement of electric vehicles, if not directly of Tesla. You can bet that Musk would do everything he could to not let those sweet, sweet government tax rebates for electric vehicles expire.
The country would need some more charging stations to handle increased demand after the expected uptick in Tesla sales. Luckily, Musk has an initiative for that too, and it would take a lot less time to spread Tesla charging stations around the country if he had the president’s ear.
Perhaps the biggest change the Iron Man of the real world would bring to the nation though is how people move from city to city. You would be able to kiss trains and planes goodbye and finally say hello to the hyperloop, which might really get going with federal backing and subsidies for development and construction.
