Tim Cook wrote to Apple employees, criticizing Trump’s immigration order in uncompromising terms, as did Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. Microsoft and Amazon have since announced plans to challenge the order in court. Yesterday, Uber’s Travis Kalanick quit Trump’s economic advisory council in response to the #deleteuber campaign that followed in the order’s wake—and, according to The New York Times, pointed questioning from Uber’s employees as to why he hadn’t resigned already.

Musk has also come out against the order, albeit gently. On Twitter, he described it as “not the best way to address the country’s challenges.” And unlike Kalanick, he remains committed to his advisory role in the Trump administration, even amid reports that some Tesla customers are cancelling their Model 3 orders in protest.

“I cannot support a company where the CEO is acting as a conduit to the rise of white nationalism and fascism in the United States,” one customer wrote on a cancellation form obtained by BuzzFeed. “I’ve always been a fan of Mr. Musk’s, but his recent actions have been abhorrent. ... Take a stand, Elon.”

Last night, Musk took to Twitter to defend his continuing relationship with Trump. “Advisory councils simply provide advice and attending does not mean that I agree with actions by the Administration,” he wrote. “In tomorrow’s meeting, I and others will express our objections to the recent executive order on immigration and offer suggestions for changes to the policy.”

Musk, who is an immigrant himself, says he understands the perspective of those who object to his attendance at the meeting, but he believes that “engaging [with Trump] on critical issues will on balance serve the greater good.”

The “on balance” part is important. Musk knows that every time he accepts an invitation from the White House, he allows Trump to leverage his unique cultural status in American life, as perhaps the most admired technologist since Steve Jobs. In the decidedly pro-immigration technology industry, many were already suspicious of Trump, and are especially so now, following the executive order. Many Tesla owners hold similar views. Musk is paying a price for these repeated meetings, among his current staff, future prospective hires, and his customers. And yet, he seems to think that any reputational hit he takes will be more than offset by the good he can do as a policy advisor to the president.

I take Musk at his word that his decision is borne of this balance, and not narrower business interests involving Tesla or SpaceX. Even in Silicon Valley, where it is commonplace to talk of changing the world, Musk has always stood out for his earnestness. Few others are so comfortable using explicitly moral language to describe their technological ambitions. He once told me that his rocket company was a “humanitarian” project. It’s no surprise that Musk would think he’d spotted some greater good that others can't see.