Elon Musk once blasted Donald Trump on social media, but the world's richest man's seismic political shift has led to a bizarre, powerful friendship that has struck fear for many.
But their purported 'love' for each other is a relatively new phenomenon. As recently as 2022, Tesla owner Musk tweeted that it was 'time for Trump to hang up his hat and sail into the sunset', adding that he believed that the 'legal maximum age for [the] start of Presidential term should be 69'.
At 78, President-elect Trump is significantly older than this suggested maximum age, however, former Barack Obama supporter Musk has thrown himself into backing the controversial politician's most recent election bid with gusto. Not only has Musk, 53, poured eyewatering sums of money into the campaign, he's also been a visible presence beside Trump at Republican rallies, making sure to wear his 'Make American Great Again' (MAGA) hat.
The once unlikely pair have also been pictured hugging and chatting happily together - demonstrating a bond that has since been solidified with a plum new post for Musk. The X owner, who since the election has reportedly spent every day with the President-elect at his Mar a Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, has now been picked to co-lead a new "Department of Government Efficiency", along with ex-presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The acronym "DOGE" is a clear nod to Musk's favourite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.
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Getty Images)Trump, who has pledged to make America the "bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world", has declared Musk's prominent role in the White House to be "The Manhattan Project" of our time. Trump said in a statement: "I am pleased to announce that the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
"Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies - Essential to the 'Save America' Movement."
He continued: "It will become, potentially, 'The Manhattan Project' of our time. Republican politicians have dreamed about the objectives of 'DOGE' for a very long time. To drive this kind of drastic change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management and Budget to drive large-scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to the government never seen before."
In a press release from Trump's campaign, Musk, who has pledged to cut $2 billion in government spending, stated: "This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people." Earlier this year, Musk admitted he owned "a bunch" of Dogecoin and, following Trump's announcement, many believe this move will see the billionaire's already extraordinary wealth soar, with the "DOGE" acronym potentially boosting the price of the cryptocurrency.
Taking to social media platform X, one person tweeted: "For those unaware Elon Musk holds a ton of Dogecoin (DOGE) and this is a President-elect using his executive power to create a new government department whose name is intended to boost the price of DOGE, thereby enriching the man running it (Musk). This is like a Russian nesting doll of self-dealing/unethical behaviour." Another wrote: "Corruption was always the raison d’être of Trump."
Meanwhile, Musk himself has already strongly hinted that he wants to flog DOGE merchandise, posting on X: "Department of Government Efficiency. The merch will be (fire emojis)." He later added: "Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!"
As reported by Forbes, Musk's new best friend's election victory has done wonders for his already mammoth bank account. As of Monday, November 11, his net worth was up by around $54 billion since Tuesday, November 5, rising to $319 billion.
Back in September, at a rally held in Michigan, Trump hinted that he would be finding room for Musk at the White House. Addressing MAGA fans, he revealed: "I don't think I can get him full-time because he's a little bit busy sending rockets up and all the things he does. He said the waste in this country is crazy. And we're going to get Elon Musk to be our cost cutter."
As well as being a key figure in the election campaign, Musk has also been busy sharing far-right conspiracy theories online. Pictures from Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida ahead of the election results showed the entrepreneur-turned-politician locked in conversation with the divisive owner of X.
In an audio discussion on X, Musk said: "I'm headed to Florida, to Mar-a-Lago, and I'll be there with President Trump, and JD [Vance], and a bunch of other cool people. The Trump team, I think they're good people. But they're also just – they're fun. They've got a great sense of humour, they're making jokes. Trump actually has a quite a bit of self-deprecating humour."
The world's richest man donated roughly $75million (£58million) to American PAC, the political action committee he founded to support Trump's campaign. He has also been using his X posts to push voters to vote for Trump. Last month, he appeared at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania and said: "As you can see, I'm not just MAGA, I'm dark MAGA."
He has been an outspoken supporter of Trump, appearing at a number of rallies and even promising to hand out a $1 million (£770,000) cheque each day to a registered voter in key swing states in the build-up to the election - which Pennsylvania officials have accused of being an illegal lottery scheme.
Lawyers for Musk and American PAC told Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta that the million-dollar prizes were not part of a lottery because "there is no prize to be won" as winners "are not chosen at random". They claimed the winners are picked based on their personal story. Musk could now face a civil lawsuit in a Pennsylvania state court.
Meanwhile, Trump has recognised Musk's loyalty in a fawning speech made after he hastily declared a 'magnificent' victory over Kamala Harris before the official results were in. After being asked about Musk by the crowd, Trump told supporters: "We have a new star; a star is born. He's an amazing guy. We were sitting together tonight. You know, he spent two weeks in Philadelphia, in different parts of Pennsylvania, campaigning."
Recalling watching a recent SpaceX launch, Trump asserted: “Only Elon can do this. That’s why I love you, Elon.” In years gone by, Musk wasn't overly political, despite expressing support for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2018 and making financial contributions to Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign, according to data from non-partisan research group Open Secrets.
It's believed that Musk entering the White House administration spells bad news for the UK. In recent weeks, he's claimed the country is on course for civil war and launched a string of attacks on the British Government. It comes amid grim warnings that a second Trump term could be even more dangerous than the first and will have a chilling impact on world security.
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