Elon Musk Gets a Crash Course in How Trumpworld Works

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The world’s richest person, not known for his humility, is still learning the cutthroat courtier politics of Donald Trump’s inner circle — and his ultimate influence remains an open question.

Most of the people who now surround President-elect Donald J. Trump are aides who proved themselves to him in past fights, or personal friends for decades. Elon Musk is neither, but he brings his own megaphone and his immense wealth. | Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times
For the first 53 years of his life, Elon Musk barely spent any time with Donald J. Trump. Then, beginning on the night of Nov. 5, he spent basically no time without him.

And so Mr. Musk, more than any other key player in the presidential transition, finds himself in a cram session to learn the courtier politics of Mr. Trump’s inner circle. For the world’s richest person — not known for his humility or patience — it is a social engineering challenge far trickier and less familiar than heavy manufacturing or rocket science.

Doubts abound as to whether he will graduate in 2028 with a four-year degree in Trumpism: It is now a parlor game in Washington and Silicon Valley to speculate just how long the Musk-Trump relationship will last. The answer, as discarded aides from Mr. Trump’s first term will tell you, may depend on Mr. Musk’s ability to placate the boss and keep a relatively low profile — but also to shiv a rival when the time comes. » | Theodore Schleifer, Reporting from Washington | Friday, November 22, 2024