President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has confirmed Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick will join as advisers in Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum.
The additions will give technology companies a stronger presence on the soon-to-be-president's team of advisers. PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi also will join the forum, which will be chaired by Stephen A. Schwarzman, CEP of Blackstone.
The forum will give input to the president about economic and business matters and will “share their specific experience and knowledge as the President implements his plan to bring back jobs and Make America Great Again,” Business Insider reported.
During the campaign, the American technology sector overwhelmingly supported Hillary Clinton’s candidacy for president over Trump’s, voicing concerns over his anti-immigration views since Silicon Valley relies heavily on immigrant workers and was concerned about the impact of strict immigration policies, BI noted.
But tech executives may be moving past their reservations and trying to find ways to work together with the president-elect, including attending a meeting at Trump Tower on Wednesday to discuss tech industry issues with Trump.
In addition to Musk and Kalanick, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Amazon’s head Jeff Bezos, and others planned to attend Wednesday’s summit, BI reported.
Musk and Kalanick both spoke out against Trump during the campaign, with Kalanick claiming in an October speech to college students that he would move to China if Trump won the election.
Musk told CNBC in November he didn’t think Trump was “the right guy” for president and that his character didn’t reflect well on the country.