During Donald Trump’s transition, it appeared that Elon Musk wouldn’t survive in Trumpworld a lot after the inauguration. Multiple leaks left the impression that Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO and X proprietor who staked a fortune on reelecting the president, had already outlasted his welcome at Mar-a-Lago, like a houseguest who comes for the weekend, stays for a month, and decides to rearrange the furnishings. Musk dropped in on one in all Trump’s calls with a world chief; publicly lobbied to put in billionaire Howard Lutnick as Treasury secretary; and feuded with Trump ally Steve Bannon over H-1B visas, later writing to critics of this system, “Take a big step back and FUCK YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.” Republicans I spoke to on the time mentioned it was inevitable that Musk’s meddling and outbursts would trigger a blowup with Trump.
That nonetheless might occur. But since Trump was formally sworn in again on January 20, Musk has elevated his affect within the White House to unfathomable ranges, whilst his conduct has at occasions been erratic. Musk is now main the so-called Department of Government Efficiency as if there aren’t any limits to his energy. His band of teenage and 20-something programmers is burrowing into federal laptop methods at breakneck velocity, and it’s unclear if Trump has a full grasp on what Musk is doing. For occasion, there have been conflicting stories this week about whether or not DOGE staffers had read-write entry to the Treasury Department’s huge cost system, which might permit Musk to probably cancel disbursements he didn’t like. Musk has since plugged into the FAA, the Department of Education, and the Office of Personnel Management. According to 1 Trump ally, Musk will not be absolutely briefing White House chief of workers Susie Wiles about his plans and the White House is successfully in the dead of night. A White House official disputed this: “The chief of staff is very much involved, and there is no daylight between Elon Musk and anyone in the administration about executing the president’s agenda.” (Musk didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark for this text.)
Meanwhile, Musk is utilizing his X account like a private White House pressroom podium to dominate the information cycle. In current days, Musk has claimed to have “deleted” a division of the General Services Administration and to have fed USAID “into the wood chipper.” He’s additionally unfold conspiracy theories, reminiscent of one falsely alleging that DOGE staffers found $84 million given to Chelsea Clinton by USAID. (Musk later deleted his tweet that promoted the declare.) Musk has even criticized his ostensible boss. On January 20, Musk undercut Trump’s announcement that the White House had secured a dedication from OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank for an funding of as much as $500 billion to construct information facilities and AI infrastructure. “They don’t actually have the money,” Musk wrote on X a number of hours after Trump revealed the plan. “SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.”
“Elon made it about himself on the president’s day,” a outstanding Trump ally mentioned.
Why Trump has allowed Musk to build up a lot energy has vexed some Trump allies. Chief amongst them is Bannon. In early January, Bannon referred to as Musk a “truly evil person” in a wide-ranging interview with Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera. One Republican near the White House mentioned Trump hasn’t turned on Musk as a result of Trump’s and Musk’s targets are thus far aligned.
“Trump is the king on the chessboard and Elon is a bishop. Sometimes the bishop takes the lead,” the Republican mentioned. Plus, it’s helpful for Trump if Musk takes political warmth. “Trump can let the public hate Elon and Elon doesn’t care. So then Trump can come in and save a few programs and look like the restrained one. He can be ‘Trump the Merciful King.’”
But different Republicans I spoke to mentioned Trump can’t––or gained’t––problem Musk as a result of Trump understands Musk’s unprecedented energy. Musk is reportedly value almost $400 billion and has greater than 216 million followers on X. (Trump has lower than half that follower rely on X, plus an viewers of 8.8 million on Truth Social.)
“How can he say no to Elon?” a former Trump marketing campaign staffer mentioned. “You think he wants to go to war with him?”
It’s ironic that Trump finds himself unable to regulate Musk, as Musk is doing to Trump what Trump did to the Republican Party. Trump gained management of the GOP by pushing the outer limits of what conduct the GOP would tolerate. Trump’s grip on the MAGA base finally made it unimaginable for the institution to rein him in. Musk has an identical psychic maintain over his huge fan base, which supplies him vital leverage over Trump. Trump additionally is aware of that Musk is prepared to out-crazy him.
“Elon is autistic and that scares people. He’s unpredictable and prone to tantrums,” one other Trump ally mentioned. (In 2021, whereas internet hosting Saturday Night Live, Musk disclosed publicly that he had a analysis of Asperger syndrome, an autism spectrum dysfunction.)
That mentioned, the longer the “President Musk” memes proceed, the extra Trump could be motivated to behave. It’s been a truism since Trump descended the golden escalator in 2015 that there can solely be one star within the Trump present. “Trump has a limit to others getting credit,” a outstanding Republican strategist instructed me. Musk’s falling recognition may additionally hasten Musk’s defenestration. An Economist/YouGov ballot lately discovered that Musk’s Republican help has dropped 21 factors since shortly after Election Day.
“Elon is going to blow himself up,” the Trump ally mentioned.