Ford executive believes Trump and Musk want to ‘strengthen’ the American auto industry

President-elect Trump may still have some time before entering the Oval Office, but he and his team are already making an impact on business leaders. Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford, whose great-grandfather Henry Ford founded the iconic American auto giant, believes Trump and Elon Musk are looking to help the industry.

“[Trump is] very tuned into the importance of a strong American industry. He wants to not only keep it strong, but actually strengthen it from here,” Ford told reporters at the Detroit Auto Show.

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Ford added that Trump is focused not just on boosting automakers, but rather he also aims to “help the workers in the industry. He cares very much about the people in the plants.”

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When touching on Trump’s close relationship with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Ford said that he is not overly worried that it will hurt the electric vehicle company’s competitors. In fact, Ford is hopeful that Musk’s position will benefit automakers.

“We’re aligned on a lot of different things,” Ford said, referring to Musk.

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In his first term, Trump butted heads with the US auto industry over regulations, trade agreements and tariffs. Ford reportedly acknowledged that his relationship with Trump during the then-president’s first term “had its ups and downs.” However, after speaking with Trump for “a long, long time,” Ford expressed optimism about the president-elect’s approach towards the auto industry in his second term.

“I feel very confident that, going forward, Ford will have a voice, and a seat at the table,” Ford said.

Axios and Bloomberg contributed to this report.