Trump World learns how to deal with Musk

President Trump’s allies and aides are learning to deal with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has had a consistent presence in the early days of the Trump administration.

Musk had a front-row seat at Trump's swearing-in, got a government email address and office space to oversee the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and appeared to play a role in the decision to offer buyouts to federal workers ahead of a requirement to return to work.

The relationship doesn't seem like it will end soon, though he has caused early headaches for the president and his team.

Musk made a controversial gesture on Inauguration Day that critics likened to a Nazi salute. And the SpaceX founder publicly criticized a major investment Trump touted on his third day in office.

Trump has publicly praised and defended Musk, and allies said the tech titan has earned significant goodwill.

Still, some say they think the relationship can’t last forever.

“Musk at some point is going to lose his luster,” a source close to the Trump team said. “Because he’s a little bit goofy, too many unforced errors.”

Another source familiar with Trump World thinking said Musk is adapting to life in Washington, compared to his cozier setup in Palm Beach, Fla., during Trump's transition.

“He is fine, but there are a lot more people in D.C. than Mar-a-Lago, and he is adjusting to navigating a bigger crowd, including some who have more power now,” the source said.

Trump has given Musk two recent shoutouts for his work with SpaceX, vowing in his inauguration address that the U.S. will “pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.” And, this week, Trump said he tasked Musk with getting NASA astronauts out of the International Space Station.

“I have just asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX to ‘go get’ the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration. They have been waiting for many months on @Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!” Trump said on Truth Social. A return mission for the astronauts using a new SpaceX craft was originally planned for February, but it was moved to at least late March, NASA said in December.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered praise for Musk on Wednesday. She told reporters DOGE has been “incredibly productive” so far and that the White House welcomes Musk’s support.

But Musk has also made enemies within Trump World. Some allies and supporters of the president view Musk as an interloper and a recent convert who does not share the same views as the MAGA movement on certain issues, as evidenced by a recent spat over H-1B visas.

Longtime Trump supporter Laura Loomer has railed against Musk on social media. Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has made a series of critical comments, most recently blasting Musk in an interview with Politico for his public criticism of an artificial intelligence infrastructure project called Stargate that Trump rolled out last week.

“Anyone looking for tension between Trump and Elon is barking up the wrong tree right now. The real friction in this White House isn’t between them—it’s between Elon and Steve Bannon,” said Jordan Wood, a former Trump administration communications aide. “On one side, you have Bannon’s camp—the hard-line populist-nationalists. On the other, a new wave of right-wing Silicon Valley power players like Elon … right now, it’s a battle of ideology and influence for the president’s attention.”

Vivek Ramaswamy left his role as a co-lead of DOGE as he plots a run for governor of Ohio, though there were reportedly tensions between the two men over the direction of the project. Ramaswamy has disputed that he did not get along with Musk.

The source close to the Trump team suggested that Ramaswamy had “kind of worn out his welcome,” adding, “the difference between Vivek and Musk is that Vivek didn’t put $200 million in of his money, so Elon’s got a longer leash than Vivek does.”

Bill McGinley, who was initially tapped to serve as White House counsel but was later reassigned to serve as the top lawyer for DOGE, left his role with the organization just days after Trump took office. The source added that part of the reason McGinley left was because “DOGE was kind of a s‑‑‑ show.”

Other sources in Trump’s orbit argue Musk has earned a lot of leeway with the president.

Trump, in fact, defended Musk when he feuded with Sam Altman of OpenAI over the Stargate project.

“Obviously, Trump does not like it when some people are not hewing to the hymn book,” said one Trump ally. “But Elon … he is an out-of-the-box thinker, which is what Trump likes. And he was a big benefit in terms of the campaign.”

Skeptics wondered if Trump would have distanced himself from Musk by now, given rifts in Trump World that the billionaire entrepreneur has caused and the taunts from Democrats that “President Musk” is actually the one calling the shots.

Musk's deep pockets and big megaphone to push Trump’s agenda lead some allies to say he is unlikely to get pushed out or sidelined anytime soon.

“Trump isn’t about to turn his back on someone who wields immense influence and has written checks for hundreds of millions of dollars to his campaign,” Wood said. “Elon is firmly in the inner circle, he seems to be generally liked among the staff, and he has an office in the EEOB. Bannon and his camp are going to have a tough time dealing with that.”

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