Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick have been added to Donald Trump's advisory council despite heavily criticizing the U.S. President-elect during his campaign. These additions were confirmed by Trump's transition team in a statement on Dec. 14.
Musk and Kalanick have been very vocal in supporting Hillary Clinton during the campaign period. Musk has been quoted to say that Trump is "not the right man for the job" and that Trump's character "does not reflect well" on the country, as per a report from Independent UK. Kalanick, on the other hand, joked about moving to China if Trump wins the election.
USA Today reports that earlier this month, Trump presented the "Strategic and Policy Forum" - 16 members who will serve as his advisors regarding business matters and economic sectors. Among the selected members, only one hailed from the technology sector: IBM CEO Ginni Rometty.
It is no secret that the head honchos of Silicon Valley have been largely critical of Trump. Most of the CEOs have actively shown their support for Clinton during the recently concluded presidential elections. One of the pressing issues that the leaders vehemently fought for is Trump's advocacy to build the Muslim registry. In an open letter, more than 580 employees from tech conglomerates have given their support for Muslim Americans and immigrants.
A summit is being held on Dec. 14 in Trump Tower in New York in hopes that Trump and the tech leaders will come to an agreement regarding various issues that they've previously butted heads on. Among those attending include Musk, Rometty, Alphabet CEO Larry Page and Chairman Eric Schmidt, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz, and Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins.
If there have been oppositions regarding Trump's appointments for his cabinet members and advisory council, the incoming U.S. president is having none of it. A recent article from Jobs & Hire reports how Trump is very protective of his cabinet picks and believes they can be a huge help to the American people.
