President-elect Donald Trump and fellow billionaire Elon Musk are “having a blast” together as they prepare to take the levers of the federal government come January.
Musk has taken part in calls with world leaders, he’s had meals with the Trump family and he has been a constant presence during the last two weeks as Trump begins to put together his next administration.
Others close to the incoming president have been surprised at the close relationship that appears to have developed between Trump and the world’s richest person.
On Tuesday, Trump accompanied Musk to a SpaceX launch in Brownsville, Texas. Also in attendance was Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty, a possible pick to be Trump’s Treasury secretary, according to Politico.
But Musk’s influence appears to have its limits. He pushed for transition co-chair Howard Lutnick to head Treasury, but Lutnick was nominated to lead the Commerce Department. Musk also advocated for Florida Senator Rick Scott to be the new Senate Republican Leader, but the Senate GOP chose South Dakota’s John Thune instead.
But the nomination of Brendan Carr to chair the Federal Communications Commission appears to be in line with Musk’s wishes. Carr and Musk have boosted each other on social media and Carr’s beliefs seem to match Musk’s.
Carr could now affect Trump administration policy in a way that may benefit Musk, with his satellite broadband service Starlink possibly being handed further contracts and subsidies.
Attending a UFC fight last weekend, Musk spoke to Donald Trump Jr. and others during the flight there.
“I got off the plane, and I was like, I wish we were going 20 times further,” Trump Jr. told Charlie Kirk on Real America’s Voice. “I wish we were there for 20 hours because it was one of the most fascinating conversations I’ve ever had. The level of genius — you can’t even comprehend it. You throw out questions, and I just want to listen.”
Trump has ignored complaints from aides about Musk’s presence and he has accepted behavior by the billionaire that he may not have with others, Politico noted.
In just the last week, Trump and Musk were together in Texas, Washington, D.C., and they sang together at Mar-a-Lago.
Musk and his son joined a Trump family photo on election night, and Trump’s granddaughter has said that Musk has achieved “uncle status.”
The president-elect has joked about not knowing when Musk is going to depart.
“Elon, like President Trump, doesn’t give a s*** about what people think about him, and President Trump finds that refreshing,” a person who has seen them together told Politico. “Elon is probably the only other man in the world who can truly relate to President Trump.”
One person close to the president-elect said of Musk: “There aren’t any larger problems than being the President of the United States. And so I think he’s fascinated with solving problems, and this gives him a front-row seat in helping solve problems that you otherwise would never be faced with.”
Last week, it was announced that Musk would be leading the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, alongside 2024 GOP primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The department name is a reference to a cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, previously pushed by Musk.
A Mar-a-Lago member told Politico: “It’s a bromance and they are having a blast.”
Musk has grown in stature in Trump’s inner circle to becoming Trump’s closest confidant, according to the New York Post. Trump has been speaking to Musk about close to every cabinet pick, the paper reported.
“Elon weighs in with an opinion that he’s largely formed from conversations from people he’s newly met, but he’s comfortable with Trump being the lone decider,” one source told the Post.
“Anyone who has seen the two or been in the room with the two knows there’s no competition in how Trump is treating Elon versus everyone else,” they said.
There’s “not even a close second,” the source added.
“I really enjoy spending time with President @realDonaldTrump. My direct experience is that he is a great guy with an excellent sense of humor. Haven’t seen him do one bad thing even once,” Musk wrote on X. “To be clear, while I have offered my opinion on some cabinet candidates, many selections occur without my knowledge and decisions are 100% that of the President.”
