By Enver Robelli
$288 million. That’s how much money Elon Musk gifted former President Donald Trump to help him become president again. On November 3, 2024, Musk had every reason to celebrate. His idol, Donald Trump, won the election and, on January 20 of this year, returned to the White House. As the BOSS. (Trump likes writing in ALL CAPS, especially when he’s angry. Or thrilled). Musk posted, in his usual corner of the internet—X, formerly known as Twitter:
“I love Donald Trump as much as a straight man can love another man.”
And now?
Trump is convinced Musk has gone insane. Musk is convinced this president must be booted out of the White House. He’s even called for the founding of a new political party. Their relationship deteriorated so badly in the past 24 hours that the value of their public shares (not just in the stock market) took a hit. At one point, Musk signaled he wanted to ease tensions, said he’d prefer to talk things out over the phone. But Trump shot back that his desire to speak with Musk is “immeasurably below zero.”
Musk opposes one of Trump’s new laws, claiming it will harm the U.S. economy. Trump argues the law won’t damage the economy—but might just hurt Musk and his electric cars, which bear the name of a Croatian scientist that nearly every Serb is convinced was Serbian. And vice versa.
A Washington Post analysis showed that Musk’s companies have benefited from at least $38 billion in government funding. One of Musk’s associates remarked, “What Musk really wanted was to become president, if you ask me.”
But only one person can be president. And for now, that person is Donald Trump. He might not have as many followers on (anti)social media as Musk (220 million on X), but who needs followers when you’re the commander-in-chief of a superpower?