Elon Musk appears to have taken up residence at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago private club since the Republican’s stunning election win — but a tech industry commentator has warned it could end messily for the “guest who wouldn’t leave.”
The CEO of Tesla and the X social media platform pumped millions of dollars into Trump’s reelection bid, and his presence at the West Palm Beach, Florida, estate nearly every day since Tuesday has been documented on social media and by reporting.
On Sunday, Musk was pictured dining with Trump and his wife, Melania, at Mar-a-Lago.
On the same day, the president-elect’s granddaughter Kai Trump posted a photo with the tech billionaire on a golf course, captioning it, “Elon achieving uncle status.” The photo includes Musk’s son X Æ A-12.
Musk is not expected to have an official role in the Trump administration, but he seems to be attempting to have an influence on decisions.
Eyebrows were raised when Musk reportedly joined a call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.
And CNN has reported Musk is “also weighing in on staffing decisions, making clear his preference for certain roles even.” It comes as Trump appointed immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller to his White House team.
“While Musk himself is still not expected to take any kind of formal position inside Trump’s administration, given how complicated it would be with his companies, what’s becoming clearer tonight is that he doesn’t really need to,” CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins said in a broadcast Sunday. “One source told me Elon Musk is having just as much influence from the outside.”
But veteran tech journalist Kara Swisher suggested Musk risks overstaying his welcome and that some in Trump’s orbit have characterised his residency as “odd.”
“He definitely inserts himself all the time. That’s his style. That’s why he’s just suddenly shown up there like the guest who wouldn’t leave,” Swisher told CNN. “I’ve heard from Trump people, calling me saying, ‘Oh, wow, this is odd.’ And I’m, like, ‘Oh, it is. You’ll see much more of it.’ But he’s not going anywhere until Trump throws him out.”
Swisher, host of the influential “On With Kara Swisher” and “Pivot” podcasts, added that a Trump-Musk split could happen as “there can be only one narcissist as head of the country, and that’s Donald Trump.”
Reminding viewers how Trump dismissed onetime chief strategist Steve Bannon soon after Bannon helped him win the presidency in 2016, Swisher said, “Trump goes through people like tissues essentially. And even if it’s Musk, they’re going to clash at some point.”