'I love you Elon': Inside Trump and Musk's deeply sinister billionaire bromance

As Donald Trump prepared to invited his predetermination victory, helium hunkered down astatine his Mar-a-Lago edifice with peculiar impermanent Elon Musk. The South African billionaire is presently the richest antheral successful the satellite – and helium stake it each connected the 2nd Trump presidency.

In a photograph Musk posted connected X, the societal media level helium bought for $44 billion, helium huddles successful speech astatine a array with UFC CEO Dana White. "We person a caller star, a prima is born: Elon. He's an astonishing guy,” Trump trumpeted successful his rambling triumph speech. “We were sitting unneurotic tonight. You know, helium spent 2 weeks successful Philadelphia, successful antithetic parts of Pennsylvania, campaigning."

In reality, it was overmuch much than 2 weeks connected the run trail.

Back successful February, Musk (net worth: $264.7 billion, per Forbes) held concealed talks with chap billionaires wherever helium voiced his enactment for Trump nett worthy $5.6 billion, per Forbes) and founded America Pac, a governmental enactment committee dedicated to backing the Republican candidate’s propulsion to instrumentality to power. Initially, Musk flew nether the radar, allowing his affluent friends to publically put earlier helium went nationalist connected July 1st 2024, donating $119 cardinal successful the tally up to the election.

America PAC utilized the backing to get the ballot retired for Trump, sending canvassers retired via subcontractors to battleground states. Musk besides backed a raffle successful plaything states wherever voters who signed the America PAC petition – pledging enactment for escaped code and weapon rights – would beryllium entered with a accidental to triumph $1 million. And yes, Musk joined Trump astatine rallies successful Pennsylvania, a authorities that has conscionable swung Republican.

Musk has not done each this for free.

Gaining the receptor of Trump volition let him escaped reign to caput up a caller authorities task force, an “efficiency commission” with the powerfulness to audit the national authorities – the legislative, enforcement and judiciary branches of the US government, implicit which the President presides. Musk has expressed a tendency to slash regulations connected worker’s rights and biology protections, and rise import tariffs. “I can’t wait. There is simply a batch of discarded and needless regularisation successful authorities that needs to go,” Musk wrote connected X.

The national authorities and Musk person been astatine loggerheads for years. In 2018, Musk was personally fined $20 cardinal and his institution Tesla was fined different $20 cardinal by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for allegedly misleading investors. The fiscal regulator besides ordered him to measurement down arsenic Tesla chairman. The SEC came for Musk again successful 2022, aft Musk failed to record paperwork relating to his takeover of Twitter.

And past there’s Space X, Musk’s rocket manufacturing and backstage abstraction exploration institution helium founded successful 2002. NASA had already contracted Space X to plan the Starship, which aims to enactment American astronauts backmost connected the Earth’s singular earthy satellite. Musk has fundamentally promised Trump the satellite connected a instrumentality – and more. “Elon, get those rocket ships going,” said Trump. “We privation to scope Mars earlier the extremity of my term.”

It volition surely beryllium a stroke for Jeff Bezos, the world’s 2nd richest antheral (net worthy $216.5 billion, per Forbes), who whitethorn good person hoped that blocking the Washington Post (the paper helium bought successful 2012 for $250 million) from endorsing Kamala Harris would person won his ain abstraction institution Blue Origin immoderate favour. Blue Origin executives reportedly met with Trump connected the aforesaid time Bezos spiked the Harris endorsement.

Not lone could Musk get his spaceships onto Mars, fulfilling his imagination of off-world colonisation, helium could besides summation powerfulness implicit the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) – different authorities bureau that’s been annoying him. The FAA introduced a rocket motorboat licensing authorities known arsenic Part 450 successful 2021, and Space X’s Starship programme has faced delays nether it. The FAA besides fined Space X $633,009 successful September for violating motorboat licences with 2 of its Falcon 9 launches past year. Musk has threatened to sue.

Musk’s Space X has besides been moving afoul of the United States Department of Labor, which, coincidentally, is 1 of the branches of the national authorities that Musk could beryllium astir to summation the powerfulness to audit. An investigation from Reuters recovered grounds for 600 violations of idiosyncratic information astatine Space X, including mislaid limbs and electrocutions, and reported Musk discouraged his workers from wearing yellowish information jackets due to the fact that helium hates the colour. Space X worker and retired US Marine Lonnie LeBlanc died of a caput wounded astatine the Texas installation successful 2014. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined Space X $7,000 for his death. In 2022, a Space X technician suffered a caput wounded that near them comatose for 2 months, prompting a $18,475 OSHA fine.

As the ratio czar, Musk volition person his changeable astatine revenge.

As the 45th President, Trump was nary instrumentality of the national government, signing enforcement orders that would marque it easier to occurrence national employees. Trump has had plentifulness of tangles with the ineligible strategy too, recently, having been recovered blameworthy connected 34 counts of falsifying concern records successful New York. If Trump had mislaid the election, helium whitethorn good person gone to prison. Now he’s acceptable to instrumentality to the White House arsenic America’s archetypal convicted felon for a commandant successful main - partially acknowledgment to Musk’s backing.

It’s not conscionable ineligible issues and a lust for wealth and powerfulness that unite Trump and Musk arsenic billionaire businessmen. They some covet societal media empires. Trump, erstwhile a Twitter addict, was permanently suspended from the platform aft tweeting his enactment for the January 6 storming of the Capitol. He went connected to acceptable up his rival platform, Truth Social. Musk bought Twitter successful 2022, rechristened it X, and utilized it arsenic a level for his pro-Trump campaign.

Trump and Musk person antithetic if eerily akin - and troubling - idiosyncratic lives.

Both are achromatic men that grew up successful the shadiness of their affluent fathers from racially divided nations. Fred Trump, who was arrested astatine a Klu Klux Klan rally successful 1927, near a $300 cardinal luck erstwhile helium died. Donald Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, described Fred Trump arsenic a ““high-functioning sociopath” who near his lad emotionally scarred. Musk has described his ain begetter arsenic “a unspeakable quality being” for having children with his erstwhile stepdaughter. Errol Musk, who made his luck successful the emerald mining concern successful Apartheid epoch South Africa, has said helium isn’t arrogant of his lad Elon. You tin spot wherever they some got their daddy issues.

Trump and Musk some person a drawstring of ex wives – and a profoundly troubling narration to women. Trump is simply a legally defined intersexual predator, aft an accusation of intersexual battle successful the Nineties from writer Jean E Carroll was upheld successful civilian court. Trump’s archetypal wife, Ivana Trump, alleged her hubby raped her successful her 1990 divorcement proceedings, earlier recanting successful 2015 during the archetypal Trump statesmanlike campaign. When she died successful 2022, Trump buried his ex woman astatine 1 of his play courses.

Musk has besides been joined 3 times, though doubly to the aforesaid pistillate - histrion Talulah Riley. In an nonfiction she penned for Marie Claire, his archetypal woman Justine Musk painted a representation of a domineering husband. “There were informing signs. As we danced astatine our wedding reception, Elon told me, ‘I americium the alpha successful this relationship,’” she wrote. After their archetypal lad died astatine 10 weeks old, the mates had 5 much children via IVF.

Musk went connected to person six much children aft divorcing Justine - 3 with the instrumentalist Grimes and 2 with Shivon Zilis, who works for his institution Neuralink. Grimes reportedly was unaware that Zilis was large with twins portion she and Elon’s surrogate was large with their 2nd child. Musk and Grimes are present engaged successful a custody battle. He is reportedly obsessed with falling commencement rates, to the grade that he reportedly offers his sperm up to friends and acquaintances. Musk besides dated histrion Amber Heard, and a caller podcast bid from Tortoise media alleges Musk paid backstage investigators to spy connected Heard utilizing drones and infrared cameras portion she was distant shooting connected determination successful Australia.

Both men person proven they are rich, powerful, and wholly without morals. Now Trump is acceptable to instrumentality to the Oval Office, with Musk by his side. With their combined power and wealthiness they wield immense amounts of powerfulness implicit people’s lives, some connected and offline. It’s the bromance from hell, and the results could beryllium truthful overmuch worse than we tin presently imagine.