Tesla Inc. and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk voiced agreement with his rivals, Sam Altman and Jeff Bezos, regarding their views on his relationship with President-elect Donald Trump.
What Happened: Earlier this week, Bill Gurley, a general partner at venture capital firm Benchmark took to X to say that his favorite part about the New York Times DealBook Summit was Altman and Bezos dismissing such concerns.
On separate occasions, both Altman and Bezos were asked if they feared Musk might exploit his relationship with Trump to gain a competitive edge. Both expressed confidence that Musk would not engage in such behavior.
Responding to Gurley’s comment on Friday, Musk said, “They are right.”
Why It Matters: Musk was appointed by Trump to co-lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency alongside Vivek Ramaswamy. DOGE aims to cut federal spending by up to $2 trillion, drawing on the expertise of Silicon Valley leaders.
During the summit, Amazon.com Inc. founder Bezos expressed optimism about the Trump administration’s potential to reduce regulations, which he believes could foster economic growth.
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OpenAI CEO Altman also downplayed concerns about Musk’s political connections, saying, “I believe pretty strongly that Elon will do the right thing.”
Musk’s relationship with Bezos has soured further after he alleged that the Amazon founder advised investors to sell their stakes in Tesla, predicting Trump’s electoral defeat.
Similarly, the Tesla CEO has time and again hurled accusations against Altman and OpenAI, the AI startup he co-founded alongside Altman.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Altman and other tech and business figures who have been targeted by Musk raised alarms about his possible influence on regulation.
Altman reportedly reached out to his contacts within Trump’s inner circle, including Jared Kushner, the President-elect’s son-in-law, and Joshua Kushner, who leads Thrive Capital, an investor in OpenAI.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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