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To be clear: Elon Musk will almost certainly not work for a government under Donald Trump.

Of course, anything is possible in a Trump 2.0 White House. But to play a major role in this administration, Musk would have to overcome a mountain of conflicts of interest.

By law (and common sense), you’re not allowed to work on government matters that would affect your personal finances. That’s a big problem for someone like Musk, whose $245 billion fortune is mostly tied up in stocks of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter), in addition to his holdings in biotechnology, artificial intelligence, satellite communications, and road infrastructure projects.

Typically, people who run for public office solve this problem by selling off their stocks and other holdings or putting them into a blind trust. But Musk, Tesla’s CEO and largest individual shareholder, can’t simply sell his stake without sending the price plummeting. And given the scope of his business interests, it’s hard to imagine where he could operate without regularly having to self-correct.

“A lot would depend on what kind of work it is and how it relates to his economic interests,” said Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia Law School. “Is there anything that would not to do with his economic interests? I’m not sure what that is.”

Still, the unlikely MAGA couple Musk and Trump are clearly enjoying teasing the idea of ​​a Musk Secretary of State. On Monday, Trump told Reuters he would consider appointing Musk to an advisory or Cabinet role if he is re-elected in November.

“He’s a very smart guy. If he did it, I would definitely do it. He’s a brilliant guy,” Trump said.

Musk did not respond directly to that comment, but he did post on X that he is “ready to serve.” This statement was posted in Musk fashion, above a doctored image of himself at a lectern labeled “DOGE Department of Government Efficiency,” a reference to the crypto meme token. Make of that what you will.

Musk, who rarely speaks directly to the press, did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. The Trump campaign also did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Rumors that Musk might take a job in Washington DC intensified last month after he publicly expressed his support for Trump, and again after the two hinted at the possibility in a choppy, confused interview on X last week.

There are many reasons to take all this speculation with a grain of salt. Not least of which is that both have a tendency to lie and exaggerate in order to keep their names in the headlines.

But let’s assume, as a thought experiment, that they were serious and Musk actually wanted to hold public office.

“The biggest hurdle for Musk would be Senate approval, which all Cabinet members need,” said Alan Morrison, a professor at George Washington University Law School. “Depending on the position, the Senate could well insist that he divest from certain securities” – including, but not limited to, Tesla if he moved to the Department of Transportation or SpaceX if he moved to the Department of Defense.

He would not be the first manager to go through this process.

Before former Goldman Sachs president Henry Paulson became Treasury Secretary under George W. Bush in 2006, he sold more than three million shares of the bank’s stock, valued at nearly $500 million, and vowed to recuse himself from any material matters involving the bank or its executives without explicit government approval. (This, of course, became quite difficult when the financial system nearly collapsed two years later.)

Aside from the legal and ethical dilemmas Musk would face in Washington, the bigger resistance could come from Wall Street.

Musk may be the richest person in the world, but if there’s one thing he can’t afford, it’s another job title.

Tesla shareholders are already pretty annoyed by the CEO’s extracurricular activities, especially the amount of time he spends spreading memes and conspiracy theories on Twitter. He spent $44 billion on Platform X two years ago, and today it is worth (according to Musk’s own estimate) less than half of that.

“Musk potentially being offered a cabinet post in a Trump White House is a disaster scenario that Tesla investors don’t want to see,” said Dan Ives, managing director of Wedbush Securities. “Musk needs to focus on Tesla… The last thing Wall Street wants to see is Elon side by side with Trump in the Oval Office.”

When asked how likely he thought such a scenario was, Ives said the idea “seems far-fetched. But it’s Trump and Musk, so anything is possible.”