With his close ties to President-elect Trump, Elon Musk is more influential than ever — but the boss of one of Tesla’s biggest rivals isn’t worried.
Hyundai CEO Jose Munoz said on Tuesday that he thinks the Tesla CEO’s outsize influence over the Trump administration may actually be positive for the rest of the auto industry.
“I don’t see that as a concern, honestly,” Munoz said in an interview with Bloomberg.
The Hyundai CEO said he believed it was in Musk’s own interests to ensure the US continued to promote EV investment and growth, and remained competitive with China’s upstart electric vehicle industry.
“I think having someone who is very close to the US industry and the EV world (in that position) should be positive for the industry,” Munoz added.
Musk’s close relationship with Trump, which has seen the billionaire take on an advisory role to cut government spending at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, has raised fears that the Tesla CEO could use his newfound influence to boost his own company and target rival automakers.
Musk has already signaled his support for cutting the $7,500 federal subsidy for new US-made electric cars, which applies to Hyundai, Ford, General Motors, and Tesla vehicles.
The SpaceX founder and analysts have both said cutting the subsidy will have a greater impact on Tesla’s rivals, with Musk saying the move would “devastate” the company’s competitors and benefit Tesla in the long term in a November earnings call.
Musk’s DOGE cofounder Vivek Ramaswamy has also said the cost-cutting body will “carefully scrutinize” the $7.5 billion in federal loans granted by the Biden administration to Tesla rivals Rivian and Stellantis.
It comes as Hyundai and its sister company, Kia, continue to see strong electric vehicle sales in the US.
The two companies reported record EV sales in the US last year thanks to new models like the IONIQ 5 and Kia EV9. In June, their combined parent group beat out Ford and GM to briefly become the second-largest EV seller in the country behind Tesla.
Hyundai did not respond to a request for comment, sent outside normal working hours.
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