Former Uber Executive and 3 Congressmen Candidates for Trump’s Transportation Chief Role: Report – Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

President-elect Donald Trump‘s transition team is reportedly considering several people, including a former Uber executive and three Republican congressmen, for the position of head of the US Department of Transportation.

What happened: The team is considering Emil Michaela former Uber executive and Trump donor and three current or former Republican members of Congress: Sam Graves, Garrett Gravesand Sean Duffy to lead the Department of Transportation, Reuters reported, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Michael, known for his social connections with billionaire and Trump supporter Elon Muskis reportedly a strong candidate for the role. Other tech executives who supported Trump have also advocated for Michael, the report said, adding that other candidates could also emerge for the role.

Why it matters: According to Reuters, Musk is expected to influence the selection of the head of the Ministry of Transport.

The billionaire contributed millions to a super PAC supporting Trump’s presidential campaign and also actively campaigned for the president-elect in the swing state of Pennsylvania, sealing his position as a key player in Trump’s campaign and circle.

The Ministry of Transport has several departments under it that regulate Musk’s companies, including SpaceX and EV giant Tesla Inc TSLA. While the Federal Aviation Administration licenses commercial space launch facilities and private sector launches, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regulates automakers and sets rules for autonomous vehicles.

Musk’s Tesla is actively working to enable autonomous driving with its fully self-driving (FSD) driver assistance technology. However, FSD has often come under NHTSA’s radar over vehicle accidents in which FSD was deployed.

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