Here's Why A Trump Advisor Has Nothing But Praise For Elon Musk

Richard LeFrak is the co-chair and advisor to President Donald Trump's infrastructure council. On Friday he was a guest on CNBC's "Squawk Box" segment to talk about the need for infrastructure work to be done and why he admires Tesla Inc TSLA's CEO Elon Musk.

LeFrak, a billionaire and New York City real estate mogul, noted that Musk is working on a proof of concept for a tunnel that can accommodate cars and reduce traffic flow on the street. Musk believes he can build a mile of tunnels, which makes him not only an "imaginative guy" but a "force of nature."

LeFrak continued that Musk is a standout in today's environment because he is thinking outside of the box and more importantly, he is spending his own money to see if his goals can be accomplished.

Defending The Infrastructure Plan

Trump's infrastructure plan calls for spending upward of $1 trillion and some of the components of the plan could consist of a public-private partnership. In other words, it is possible that taxpayer money could be diverted to private companies to create new infrastructure projects without the companies having their own "skin in the game."

LeFrak responded that in many cases private companies can do the job at a faster and cheaper rate versus government entities. Also, private companies may shoulder the responsibility of cost over-runs and maintenance after the project is completed, which could save the government money over the long term.

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_______ Image Credit: By Brian Solis - originally posted to Flickr as Tesla Grand Opening in Menlo Park - Tesla Chairman, Elon Musk, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons