5 reasons President-elect Donald Trump may impact Tesla CEO Elon Musk's SpaceX

By Muqbil Ahmar

The election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States of America will have several ramifications. The effects would range from the local to the global. One of the sectors on which he could have a significant impact is the development of space technology. Since Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk don’t share a very cordial relationship, the development could have an impact on SpaceX, the most pioneering privately-operated space technology company run by the latter.

There are several reasons for such a prognosis:

1. We hardly know how President Trump feels about space programs as he has spoken very little about it throughout his campaign. But the very fact that he has spoken little during the long course of a campaign means that it doesn’t figure very high on his list of priorities, although it cannot be said with certainty how exactly a new president would influence the future of space programs, in general, and NASA, in particular. If Trump’s aides are to be believed the focus of NASA would be recalibrated. “The Commander-in-Chief of United States’ Army would have a lot of role to play on how the space exploration programs pan out. He would also be setting the goals and the agenda of premier space agency NASA,” said Shashank Dixit, CEO, Deskera, a leader in cloud technology and a space technology enthusiast.

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2. On the other hand, President Barack Obama showed keen interest in the area and shared close ties with Elon Musk, who is also the CEO of SpaceX. After Musk’s active interventions, a number of private programs and spaceflight initiatives have picked up steam. The maverick billionaire was at the forefront. SpaceX has consistently been breaking new ground and extending the frontiers as far as space technology is concerned. President Obama supported his projects through subsidies. In fact, SpaceX’s private-public business model banks on the financial and institutional support (NASA) of the US government.

Additionally, Musk and Obama shared a personal relationship as well: Musk gave Obama tours of SpaceX at Cape Canaveral, Florida; President Obama dined with Musk on several occasions; Elon Musk personally visited the White House more than a dozen times; and the Tesla Motors entrepreneur donated generously to both Obama and Clinton’s election campaigns. Musk has supported the Democrat camp whereas Trump is from the Republican camp.

3. Moreover, there is no love between Trump and Musk. Billionaire entrepreneur Musk recently remarked: “I feel a bit stronger that [Trump] is not the right guy… He doesn’t seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States," SpaceX Communications Director Dex Torricke-Barton also said that the company will be fighting the Trump administration tooth and nail. “Donald Trump, we will tear down your wall. I promise," he remarked.

4. SpaceX heavily depends on government’s financial support: the company reportedly gets $5 billion in government contracts. That money could dry up after Trump’s ascendancy. The reported figure comprises government incentives, including tax breaks, grants, discounted loans, factory construction, and environmental credits.

5. Last but not the least Trump reportedly plans to cut the US budget by over $5 trillion. Once the cut goes into effect, big ticket projects including the ambitious space programs could find themselves in limbo.

Whatever be the eventual outcome, one can only hope that President Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk would not let individual differences play a role in mankind’s knowledge and exploration of the Universe.

With over 10 years of experience in the field of journalism, the author is a technology evangelist and avid blogger.