How Long Will Musk Be Welcomed at the White House?
The world’s richest man has a lot to lose if his usefulness to the president begins to fade.
A Tesla sales event.
Photographer: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North AmericaElon Musk’s mix of wealth and celebrity, combined with his broad array of high-tech businesses around the world (and above it), makes him unlike other businesspeople who seek to curry favor with the White House. His prominent role in President Donald Trump’s administration as de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency has led some observers to refer to him as the “co-president.”
But the post-election Trump “bump” in Musk’s chief currency, shares in Tesla Inc., evaporated this week. Musk’s proximity to the president provided an initial boost to his fortune, taking it to almost $500 billion in mid-December, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The subsequent slump to $314 billion reflects, in part, the corrosive effect of that proximity on Tesla’s brand. Indications surfaced last week that Musk’s slash-and-burn approach to government efficiency is also angering some in Trump’s cabinet. Put together, these are the first hints of trouble in the defining relationship of our current politics.