Was mocking Musk a mistake? Democrats think about warmer relationship with the billionaire

Ro Khanna is trading texts with Elon Musk. Josh Shapiro took a call from him. And John Fetterman has compared him to the superhero Tony Stark.

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to install Musk as the federal government’s cutter-in-chief, some ambitious Democrats are taking a warmer approach to the billionaire businessman than their party leaders have in the past as he has become one the most influential people on the planet.

“He’s had an undeniable impact on the Pennsylvania election, and I think the election overall,” Fetterman, the Democratic Pennsylvania senator, told POLITICO. “I’ve warned Democrats, if you’re just going to make fun of it or to dismiss it, you do it at our peril. And I think that’s very clear what happened.”

Musk is the world’s richest man, and his companies are helping determine the future of space exploration, electric vehicles, AI and social media. Democrats who are making friendly overtures to him said that they want to shape the thinking of someone who will have an outsize microphone regardless of what they do. They are also eager to encourage him to develop his businesses in their backyards.

Some of them are also eyeing presidential runs in 2028, and may want to avoid getting on his bad side for political reasons. Musk spent $280 million this year supporting Trump and other Republicans.

The relationship between Democrats and Musk has been icy for the past few years. President Joe Biden said Musk’s ties to other countries were “worthy of being looked at” and attacked him as a one-time “illegal worker.” Musk, in turn, called Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris each a “puppet.” Liberals also laughed off Musk’s purchase of X and his efforts to turn out the vote for Trump — with vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz mocking him for “skipping like a dipshit” on stage at a rally.

But increasingly, some Democrats are arguing that was the wrong approach and think Musk played an outsize role in helping elect Trump — the latest sign that the left is confronting the president-elect differently this time around. It’s an open question whether other Democrats will follow suit, and either benefit or suffer consequences.

Some Democrats remain deeply skeptical of Musk, who is one of several billionaires and tech leaders Trump has tapped to staff his administration. They see Musk as an oligarch, and are concerned about his plans to slash the federal government with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy as incoming co-leaders of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.

“I reserve the right to be surprised, but this looks to me like a coming kleptocracy, in which all these billionaires are running the government in order to rig the rules,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). “So I’m pretty fucking skeptical that this is a legitimate effort.”

Rep. Ro Khanna said he has “exchanged texts” with Musk since President-elect Donald Trump tapped him to head DOGE.

Khanna, a House Democrat who represents Silicon Valley and a potential future presidential candidate, has known Musk for more than 10 years. In an interview, he called Musk an “an extraordinary entrepreneur” and said that he fits the mold of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “dollar-a-year men,” the corporate executives who were paid a symbolic salary of $1 annually to help the federal government mobilize for WWII.

Khanna said he has “exchanged texts” with Musk since Trump tapped him to head DOGE. He declined to “go into private exchanges” but said they have discussed “the places where we can collaborate.”

“We have a candid conversation. He also knows where I disagree with him,” he said. “We need to engage these technologists and builders to be part of our coalition, but without compromising our values.”

In a post on X this month, Musk said that Khanna is a “sensible moderate” after the lawmaker said on TV that he disagreed with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed electric vehicle subsidy, which would likely exclude his company Tesla. Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

Shapiro, the Pennsylvania governor who is widely seen as a top 2028 presidential candidate, took a short call from Musk in October when the entrepreneur was sitting in businessman Thomas Tull’s box at a Steelers game. Tull and Musk were reportedly talking about investments in Pennsylvania when Tull decided to call Shapiro and put him on the phone with Musk.

Shapiro told NBC that their conversation “was 100% on economic development.”

“I’m always fighting hard to make sure that folks invest in Pennsylvania,” he said. “We did not discuss politics. We obviously have completely different views on politics, different choices and candidates.”

A Shapiro spokesperson declined to provide more information on the call.

Fetterman, who is also rumored to be eyeing a bid for the White House, said that he has not talked with Musk. But he said he is open to working with him to “cut waste” and argued that “it’s undeniable that he is an innovator, and our American economy is better because of him.” He cautioned Democrats to not dismiss him.

“He’s had an undeniable impact on the Pennsylvania election, and I think the election overall,” Sen. John Fetterman said about Musk.

“If our government is issuing checks for billions for his companies to rescue our astronauts, or he’s involved in things like AI and really important things, it’s like he is going to be part of this conversation,” said Fetterman. “And that’s a fact. And you want it to be as productive as possible.”

Even some progressive lawmakers have signaled that they are open to working with Musk, encouraging him to look at the Pentagon for cuts. But their efforts are likely different from some of their moderate colleagues and instead aimed at garnering attention for their longtime goals — slashing the defense budget is one of them — while also holding Trump accountable for his populist campaign promises.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told POLITICO that “If Elon Musk wants to change government contracting to cut billions of dollars of waste out of the Pentagon budget, count me in.” Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) said that “I’m all in for cutting waste, making our government efficient and delivering for the people of Georgia” and “I’ll work with whomever I have to work with, if I can, to get that done.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) likewise posted on X, “Elon Musk is right. The Pentagon, with a budget of $886 billion, just failed its 7th audit in a row. It’s lost track of billions.”

In some ways, Democrats are returning to form with Musk. Before becoming Trump’s top ally, Musk previously called himself a Democrat and voted for Biden in 2020. As president, Barack Obama met with Musk in the Oval Office and toured SpaceX with him.

By contrast, Musk has complained that Biden’s administration ignored Tesla, including by excluding it from the White House’s electric vehicle event. Biden and Musk have also taken opposing views on labor organizing, with the president supporting the United Auto Workers and the Tesla CEO criticizing the union’s efforts at his company. Musk made a rare visit to Biden’s White House last year, but the meeting was not with the president himself.

During her presidential campaign, Harris likewise held Musk at arm’s length, refusing a proposed interview with him. While touring Pennsylvania in support of Trump, Musk said after the assassination attempts against the former president that “nobody even bothers to try to kill Kamala,” adding, “It’s pointless. Why? They’ll just get another puppet.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the outgoing chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said that she is taking a wait-and-see approach to Musk and DOGE.

“I never say never to working with somebody, but I got to see what it is, because there’s a lot of controversies and hypocrisies that are out there,” said Jayapal. “I’m gonna put together my own list of where I think we should be cutting. And I have a feeling it’s not gonna be the same as their list. But I’m gonna try.”

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