President and now have one of the most powerful relationships in the after forging a close alliance in the past year - putting their former feud behind them.
The will enter the White House for a , but unlike his first presidency, this time he is armed with a carefully selected circle around him, which includes the world's richest man. The X owner, who reportedly spent every day with the President-elect at his Mar a Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, in the days following the election, was selected to co-lead a new "Department of Government Efficiency", along with ex-presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
The acronym "DOGE" is a clear nod to 's favourite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin. Not only did Musk, 53, pour eyewatering sums of money into Trump's campaign, but he was also a visible presence beside Trump at Republican rallies, making sure to wear his 'Make American Great Again' (MAGA) hat.
And once Trump was declared President-Elect, the pair were pictured hugging as they celebrated his monumental win. While they're already said to be in each other's pockets, their bond is a relatively new phenomenon, with them once sharing an acrimonious relationship.
As recently as 2022, 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'. Meanwhile, Trump, 78, once summed up his new aide as a 'Bulls**t' artist.
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But their spat ignited long before then. During the 2016 election, Musk had sided with Hillary Clinton's economic plans, having a much harsher view of Trump. "I feel a bit stronger that he is not the right guy, Musk admitted. "He doesn't seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States."
He also spoke out on Trump's 'Muslim ban', saying that it wasn't the 'best way' the approach the country's 'challenges'. Nevertheless, the billionaire went on to join one of Trump's business advisory councils before quitting in protest.
The President still clearly admired Musk as in January 2020, during a CNBC interview, he described the tech guru as "one of our great geniuses, and we have to protect our genius." A few months later, he supported him as he defended Musk's call to reopen Tesla's plant in California, which had been closed over coronavirus restrictions.
He also was present at Florida's Kennedy Space Center to watch a SpaceX rocket launch two NASA astronauts. A shift in Musk's voting was then made evident around springtime in 2022, when he revealed he had always historically voted for Democrats, but that was about to change.
He had described himself as "politically moderate" and "somewhere in the middle, socially liberal and fiscally conservative." But at a tech conference, he slammed Biden's support for unions and "inability to get a lot done."
"Like, I'm not sure I might never have voted for a Republican, just to be clear. Now, this election, I will," he stated. But while Trump initially shed praise for Musk's deal, in May 22, he took to Truth Social to criticise the "ridiculous" price.
At a rally in Alaska a few months later, he predicted the deal wouldn't happen and accused him of lying. "He said the other day, 'Oh, I've never voted for a Republican.' I said, 'I didn't know that.'’" Trump said. "He told me he voted for me, so he's another bull***t artist."
In response, Musk shared a clip of the rally on X, saying he "doesn't hate the man" but that he was "too old" to run for presidency anyway. The President retaliated with several damning Truth Social posts, claiming that when Musk came to the White House asking for subsidies for his various projects, he could have made him "drop to his knees and beg" and that he "would have done it".
Musk took a screengrab of the claim and shared it to X, simply responding: "Lmaooo". It was then in November 2022 that the two appeared to set aside their differences and petty online rants.
After Musk did indeed acquire Twitter, Trump congratulated the new owner and eventually, Musk lived out his promise to reverse Trump's permanent ban from the social media giant, saying the 'people had spoken' following a poll. Weeks after the platform was rebranded as X, Trump released his first post, which was his very own mugshot photo.
In March 2024, there was speculation that Trump, who was in need of an urgent cash injection for his presidential campaign, had met with Musk to help fund him. However, he tweeted: "Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President".
But he finally showed his support in July 2024, two days after Trump survived an assassination attempt. He endorsed him for the presidential race, writing on X: "I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery".
Trump then became active again on X, showing his support for Musk's endeavour. 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 was also 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 business owner.
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 had also been using his X posts to push voters to vote for Trump.
He soon became 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 gushed: "Only Elon can do this. That's why I love you, Elon." Trump, who has pledged to make America the "bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the ", then announced 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 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 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."
As reported by Musk's new best friend's election victory has done wonders for his already mammoth bank account. His net worth was up by around $54 billion following Trump's election win, rising to $319 billion.
, the first felon to enter the White House after his hush money conviction, has vowed to bring in sweeping changes within hours of taking charge in the Oval Office on Monday with a whirlwind of chaotic executive orders. He has pledged to "make heads spin" with ambitious and often polarising plans and a purge what he calls the "deep state".
