Elon Musk suggested as investor for Warner-Paramount merger that would put him in group running CNN and CBS News

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Elon Musk is being eyed as a potential investor in Paramount as the company's merger with Warner Bros. Discovery nears completion, according to a new report.

As they seek to shore up the media company’s finances, Paramount executives have talked about asking the billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla to join a “syndicate of equity investors into Paramount,” Semafor reported Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Such a maneuver could make Musk — an ally of and major donor to President Donald Trump — a partial owner of CBS News, currently owned by Paramount, and CNN, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Though a cash infusion from the billionaire businessman may not necessarily give him formal influence over operations, it could nevertheless raise alarm among Democrats. Many Democrats became critical of him after he purchased X, donated millions to Republicans and slashed the federal workforce as the de facto head of DOGE.

Musk has a long-established relationship with Larry Ellison, the billionaire father of Paramount CEO David Ellison. In 2022, the elder Ellison poured $1 billion into Musk’s bid to take X private, and in 2018, he invested in Musk’s electric car company, Semafor reported.

The Independent has contacted Paramount and Musk for comment.

This week, Paramount announced a proposed settlement with a dozen states, which had sued to block its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

The merger, valued at roughly $111 billion, would establish one of the largest media conglomerates in the world.

There have been accusations that CBS News has become more supportive of the Trump administration since Bari Weiss, the founder of the anti-woke media outlet The Free Press, was appointed editor-in-chief last October after Paramount, the network’s parent company, was acquired by billionaire David Ellison.

Since then, critics have accused her of steering coverage to favor the Trump administration and Israel. She has reportedly responded that she is not “a mouthpiece for anybody” and that her goal is to restore trust in journalism.