Trump's billionaire adviser decides to resign

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has kept his word, leaving the White House advisory council after President Donald Trump confirmed his withdrawal from the Paris climate change agreement.

Previously, on June 1, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX announced that he would leave his position as an advisor to Mr. Trump if the President actually withdrew the US from the agreement.

“I don’t know where the Paris agreement will go, but I have done everything I can to advise the President directly, through the White House and the councils, that we must stay in the agreement. In that case, I will have no choice but to leave the council,” Musk wrote on Twitter.

The tech billionaire is both a member of the economic advisory council and a member of the jobs council. When the decision was made official by Mr. Trump, Elon Musk wrote on Twitter: “I am leaving the president’s advisory council. Climate change is real. Leaving the Paris agreement is not good for the US or the world.”

Tech billionaire Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump. Photo: AP

Musk was criticized in February for remaining on the advisory board, especially after tech CEO Travis Kalanick resigned in protest of Trump’s “Muslim ban.” Musk said on Twitter at the time that “engaging in important issues serves the greater good.” But Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement has changed Musk’s mind.

The Paris Agreement, which sets out a roadmap for countries to cut fossil fuel use and use clean energy to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, is one of former President Obama's key legacies.

On June 1, the current US President confirmed that he would withdraw from the agreement, saying that it was a harsh financial and economic burden. Mr. Trump also cited data showing that the loss of manufacturing, steel and coal jobs would hurt the US economy.

According to PLO