Donald Trump and his wife Melania dined with Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago this weekend as the Tesla founder exerts his influence on the incoming administration.
A video posted on social media showed the trio happily dining on the patio, smiling and chatting. Melania Trump and Elon Musk were dressed in black while the president-elect wore a suit with a yellow tie.
Trump has been celebrating his landslide election victory with his supporters behind closed doors of his private club in Palm Beach.
The president-elect’s usual table is always cordoned off, but he walks around the room on his way to his seat, stopping to shake hands and talk to guests. He’s shown off his dance moves, posed for selfies and generally delighted with his win.
Amid the celebrations, he is working to name his White House staff and Cabinet members.
A constant presence at his side through all of this has been Musk, the 53-year-old founder of SpaceX and the richest man in the world. They’ve seen him at Mar-a-Lago almost every day.
Donald and Melania Trump dining at Mar-a-Lago with Elon Musk
The “bromance” between the two men has solidified since Trump won a second term in the White House.
Musk, who was a fierce supporter of Trump during the election, participated in transition meetings, participated in calls with world leaders and supported the Republican race for Senate leadership.
He is not expected to take a formal position in a second Trump administration, but there will be no need: he has already shown that he has enormous influence and a direct line to Trump.
However, Musk could be appointed to a special committee, CNN reportedwhere he would still have enormous access but would not be subject to the government’s ethics rules.
If he were a government employee, Musk would have to divest and separate from his private companies (Tesla, X, SpaceX, xAI and his brain chip company Neuralink) or put assets in a blind trust to avoid conflicts of interest.
The committee would seek to cut public spending and make government more efficient.
Musk was deeply committed to a Trump victory. He donated $119 million to a political action committee that helped elect the president-elect.
Now he is making his opinion known about what Trump’s second term should be like. It could wield enormous power by installing deputies, allies and ideological partners in government agencies.
He has pressured Trump to appoint some of his SpaceX executives to the Defense Department.
This weekend, Musk endorsed Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a Trump ally, against South Dakota Sen. John Thune in the Senate Republican leadership race.
Musk gave Scott his blessing after the senator quickly backed Trump’s demand that anyone vying for leadership support recess appointments for his nominees, a way for presidents to try to bypass Congress that Senate Democrats They could essentially block.
Scott is a former health care executive and the richest sitting senator. Musk disparaged Thune as “the Democrats’ best choice.”
Elon Musk has been exerting his influence in the build-up to Trump’s second term.
Elon Musk has become close to Melania Trump, the two are seen with Musk’s son at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally in October.
Musk was at Mar-a-Lago when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Trump to congratulate him on his victory. Trump put the Ukrainian president on speakerphone so Musk could participate in the call.
Musk is not only close to Trump, but also to his transition co-chairman, Howard Lutnick, the billionaire CEO of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald.
He is also close with Melania Trump, the incoming first lady.