Elon Musk wants Trump to disrupt Wall Street with his treasury pick
As President-elect Donald Trump privately considers his team to lead America’s economy, tech billionaire Elon Musk has put his thumb on the scale, urging followers on X to help make a public push for a candidate who won’t be “business-as-usual” on Wall Street.
Musk, a Trump ally who has gained significant influence in the formation of Trump’s incoming administration, posted on X Saturday that he wants Howard Lutnick, a staunch Trump supporter who runs investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, to serve as the next treasury secretary.
Scott Bessent, the founder of capital management firm Key Square, has been widely viewed as the frontrunner for the job.
“My view fwiw is that Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change,” Musk wrote in the post Saturday. “Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change one way or another.”
Musk urged his followers to “weigh in on this for @realDonaldTrump to consider feedback.”
Both Bessent and Lutnick are respected on Wall Street and have publicly supported Trump and his economic policies — including massive and unprecedented tariffs that remain largely unpopular among mainstream economists. Both also have embraced cryptocurrencies, which Trump has backed in recent months despite initial skepticism.
But Lutnick, a leader of Trump’s transition team, demonstrates a personality that is somewhat more forceful and boasting than Bessent, whose demeanor is perhaps more typical of a treasury secretary — a position that often plays a calming role for Wall Street during times of economic or market turmoil.
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