Musk Breezes Through Washington as Smooth CEO, Not Twitter Troll
On Twitter, Elon Musk is a right-leaning, irreverent firebrand. In Washington, he's a smooth political operator who knows his way around power. The chief executive officer of SpaceX, Tesla Inc. and Twitter Inc. slipped into Washington under the radar this week and popped up in the offices of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and some senior House Republicans, who are about to begin investigations of President Joe Biden's administration and family as well censorship on social media.
He didn't neglect Democrats, however. Musk tweeted that he met with Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and on Friday sat down with top White House officials in charge of implementing the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act.
This version of Musk belies the image of an executive as impulsive tweeter. He knows how to work both sides.
Republicans, who just control one chamber of Congress, have little power beyond a messaging platform and the ability to hold up some bills. Democrats, who hold the White House, Senate and control federal agencies are the ones with influence over the new electric car tax credits that could affect both Tesla's profits and Musk's personal fortune.
The visit to Washington comes in a busy — and controversial — week for Musk.
On Tuesday, he wrapped up three days of testimony in federal court in San Francisco as part of a long-running shareholder lawsuit over his failed 2018 attempt to take Tesla private. He then flew to Nevada for an event with Republican Governor Joe Lombardo, where Tesla announced $3.6 billion in additional investment in the state for battery production and manufacturing of its Class 8 electric Semi truck.
He's also under scrutiny by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over his role in shaping
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