By Dasha Burns and David Ingram
On Tuesday evening, tech billionaire Elon Musk achieved a significant victory when President-elect Donald Trump announced that Musk, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, would co-lead a newly established “Department of Government Efficiency.” Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has maintained a close relationship with Trump, which has continued even after the election. However, for some within Trump’s circle, Musk’s involvement has become a point of contention.
Musk’s proactive approach in advocating for his ideas about Trump’s second term has reportedly caused friction with members of the transition team. According to two individuals familiar with the situation at Mar-a-Lago, Musk’s frequent presence at Trump’s Florida resort has started to create tension, as it has been perceived as overstepping boundaries. These sources, who spoke anonymously due to not being authorized to comment publicly, noted that Musk’s behavior has been increasingly disruptive.
“He’s acting like a co-president and making sure everyone knows it,” one source said, adding that Musk has been boasting about his contributions, such as America PAC and the social media platform X, which he leveraged to support Trump’s campaign. “He’s trying to make President Trump feel indebted, but the president isn’t beholden to anyone,” the source continued.
Musk did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Karoline Leavitt, the spokesperson for the Trump-Vance transition, issued a statement praising the relationship between Trump and Musk. “Elon Musk and President Trump are close friends and visionary leaders committed to Making America Great Again. Musk’s innovative mindset will greatly benefit the federal government’s efficiency,” she said.
Musk has been at Mar-a-Lago since election night last Tuesday, frequently attending meetings, joining calls, and sitting alongside Trump. According to sources, he has been actively participating in high-level discussions, even before his official role was announced. This included briefly joining a phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.
An adviser to Trump noted that Musk would also be present at an upcoming meeting with Republican lawmakers on Wednesday, ahead of leadership elections.
The second source highlighted Musk’s assertive nature, stating that he voices his opinions on numerous issues with such force that it has started to irritate Trump’s advisers. “He wants to be perceived as influential in every matter, even when he’s not,” the source said.
Some of Trump’s advisers have expressed concerns about Musk’s approach, suggesting that he may not fully grasp the importance of maintaining a lower profile in Trump’s inner circle. According to these sources, Musk’s aggressive engagement could potentially harm his long-term position. They noted that Musk seemed to be promoting his own agenda rather than aligning with Trump’s priorities.
“Appointing individuals based on loyalty to Elon isn’t practical,” one source remarked, emphasizing the necessity of ensuring that Trump’s trusted allies were the ones driving policy implementation.
Musk’s support for Trump has been unwavering. His super PAC contributed over $152 million to Trump’s campaign and other Republican candidates, with a large portion of that funding coming directly from Musk. He also organized campaign rallies in Pennsylvania and engaged voters through daily $1 million giveaways. Furthermore, Musk utilized his social media platform, X, to amplify Trump’s messages.
In recent posts on X, Musk has promoted policy proposals such as deporting immigrants and reducing government expenditures.
“Very productive day of work with the team,” Musk shared online.