WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump headed to Brownsville, Texas, on Tuesday to watch one of Elon Musk ’s companies test its Starship rocket, the latest sign of a deepening bond between the president-elect and the world’s richest man.
Ever since Musk began camping out at Mar-a-Lago after the election, there’s been speculation over when Trump would grow tired of having him hanging around and giving him advice on running the country.
But Tuesday’s outing was a remarkable display of intimacy between the two, one with implications for American politics, the U.S. government, foreign policy and even the possibility of humans reaching Mars.
“Good luck to Elon Musk and the Great Patriots involved in this incredible project!” Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media website, while en route to Texas.
Musk spent around $200 million to help Trump beat Democrat Kamala Harris in the presidential race, and he’s been given unparalleled access. He’s counseled Trump on nominees for the new administration, joined the president-elect’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and been tapped to co-chair an advisory panel on cutting the size of the federal bureaucracy.
In addition to political influence, Musk could benefit personally as well. SpaceX, his rocket company, has billions of dollars in government contracts and the goal of eventually starting a colony on Mars. He’s also CEO of Tesla, which manufactures electric vehicles, and has battled with regulators over safety concerns involving autonomous driving.
“Trump has the biggest possible regard for people who break the rules and get away with it,” said William Galston, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank. “Musk has demonstrated extraordinary accomplishment in doing that.”
To top if off, Musk owns the social media company X, formally known as Twitter, which he has harnessed as an influential perch to promote Trump and his agenda.
“Stop the Swamp!” he wrote on Tuesday as he shared a warning that entrenched Washington interests are trying to undermine Trump before his inauguration.
Before the election, Musk rejected the idea that he was expecting any favors in return for supporting Trump in the presidential race.
“There is no quid pro quo,” he posted on X in September. “With a Trump administration, we can execute major government reform, remove bureaucratic paperwork that is smothering the country and unlock a new age of prosperity.”
However, Trump has not gone anywhere without Musk in the two weeks since beating Harris. Musk joined Trump at a meeting with House Republicans in Washington and sat next to him at an Ultimate Fighting Championship match in New York. The trip to Texas for the rocket launch will be Trump’s third time outside Florida since the election.
