Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos Race to Build Robots to Win Trump’s Favor and Reshape American Manufacturing

In an era marked by fierce political promises to revive American manufacturing, two of the world’s most influential tech titans—Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos—are channeling massive investments into robotics and automation technologies. Their high-stakes competition to lead the next wave of industrial innovation coincides with President Donald Trump’s campaign to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States, setting the stage for a complex intersection of technology, politics, and labor economics.

President Trump has disrupted global trade with aggressive tariffs and reshoring incentives designed to resuscitate the nation’s manufacturing sector, a core pillar of his “America First” economic agenda. However, while Trump champions a return to traditional factory jobs, many of his closest technology allies are betting on automation and robotics that may ultimately replace human labor on factory floors.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and one of Trump’s top donors and advisers, has emerged as a prominent advocate for humanoid robots as a key future growth area. During a February interview at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Musk enthusiastically described the potential of Tesla’s humanoid robots to “produce any product” and revolutionize manufacturing processes.

Tesla’s push into robotics aims to extend the company’s reach beyond electric vehicles into broader industrial automation.

Meanwhile, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whom Trump recently praised as “terrific,” has quietly invested in several cutting-edge robotics firms, underscoring his vision of automation as integral to the future of American industry. One notable investment is in Figure, a startup developing humanoid robots focused on manufacturing and warehouse applications.

Figure’s website boldly states its belief that humanoid robots will “revolutionize a variety of industries,” signaling Bezos’s bet on the widespread adoption of robotics.

This rivalry extends beyond Musk and Bezos. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman—both of whom accompanied Trump on his recent Middle East trip—have also financially backed Figure, with OpenAI ending its partnership last year.

Huang has spoken openly about how artificial intelligence will spark “new types of factories,” creating jobs in trades like construction, steelmaking, plumbing, and electricity, even as AI boosts productivity.

Huang’s nuanced perspective captures the dual-edged nature of automation: “New jobs will be created, some jobs will be lost, every job will be changed,” he said at an April conference. “It’s not AI that’s going to take your job. It’s the company and the person who uses AI that’s going to take your job.”

This statement highlights the fundamental tension underlying Trump’s manufacturing revival ambitions. As Georgetown University professor Harry Holzer explained to ABC News, “Trump is talking about bringing back the jobs, and he’s not understanding the tension between that goal and automation, which the tech bros have enthusiasm for.”

Holzer emphasizes the inherent conflict between the desire to expand employment and the tech-driven impulse toward labor-saving innovations.

The White House’s position, however, remains firmly in favor of reshoring and manufacturing growth. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressed enthusiasm about a looming “golden age” for American industry, with trillions of dollars expected to flow into new factories across the country.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai highlighted the national security imperative behind the push to reduce dependence on foreign supply chains for critical pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and semiconductors. “The Trump administration remains committed to reshoring manufacturing that’s critical to our national and economic security,” Desai said, citing tariffs, tax cuts, deregulation, and domestic energy production as key tools.

Yet the manufacturing workforce in the United States has declined dramatically over the past decades. Only about 8% of U.S. workers are now employed in manufacturing, down sharply from nearly 25% in 1970.

This trend stems from both offshoring to lower-wage countries and the growing prevalence of automation, which has long boosted factory productivity while reducing labor needs. As research from Ball State University showed in 2015, automation allowed factories to maintain or increase output with fewer employees, causing manufacturing jobs to stagnate despite rising production.

Trump’s tech allies, paradoxically, are backing firms that push automation even further. Vicarious, a robotics company focused on warehouse applications, boasts $250 million in investments from Bezos, Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and others who attended Trump’s inauguration.

Vicarious markets its robots as cost-cutting solutions that reduce labor hours, intensifying the debate about the true nature of “bringing back jobs.”

In 2022, Alphabet-backed Intrinsic acquired Vicarious, linking Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai to the network of tech leaders aligned with Trump’s administration. While Alphabet and Meta declined to comment for ABC News, the involvement of such major firms underlines the deep integration of automation in U.S. manufacturing’s future.

Yong Suk Lee, an economics and technology professor at Notre Dame, described the conflicting views between Trump’s trade advisers and tech leaders as “opposed.” Lee predicted the tech-driven position will likely dominate, as reshoring companies will face higher labor costs than overseas competitors and thus turn to automation to remain competitive.

This dynamic was on display when Musk publicly clashed with Peter Navarro, Trump’s senior trade and manufacturing counselor. Musk called Navarro “truly a moron,” while Navarro dismissed Musk as “not a car manufacturer — he’s a car assembler.” This public spat epitomizes the tension between the push for more human jobs and the relentless march of automation.

Industry experts agree that automation is unlikely to slow, regardless of political support, as manufacturers compete fiercely to lower costs and increase efficiency. Some analysts note that automation may create new jobs related to machine maintenance and programming, but the net effect on traditional manufacturing employment remains uncertain.

The challenge is compounded by a current labor shortage in U.S. manufacturing. A recent study from Michigan State University found that one in five factories failed to produce at full capacity due to worker shortages, underscoring the difficulty of finding qualified labor.

Amazon-backed Agility Robotics, which develops humanoid robots, frames the reshoring movement as a prime opportunity for expanding automation. “Adding a humanoid robot to your manufacturing facility is a great way to stay on the leading edge of automation,” the company states.

Amazon itself claims to have created more U.S. jobs than any other company over the past decade, with a spokesperson emphasizing robotics as a means to improve safety, productivity, and workforce skills. “Technology should be used to help us retain and grow our talent through skill development and reimagining how we make our workplace better,” said Tye Brady, chief technologist at Amazon Robotics.

As Musk and Bezos race to lead the robotics revolution, the broader debate continues: Can America’s manufacturing revival under Trump’s vision truly create the promised jobs when automation is increasingly poised to replace human workers? The answer lies in balancing innovation with inclusive economic growth—a challenge that will shape the future of American labor and industry.