Elon Musk spent months campaigning for Trump. What's next for their partnership?
In the final leg of the election campaign, Donald Trump and Elon Musk formed a tight partnership that appears poised to only grow stronger now that the former president is officially headed back to the White House.
While both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris had their share of billionaire backers, perhaps none of them courted publicity as Musk did.
For weeks, Musk has been offering controversial $1 million daily giveaways to voters in swing states in an attempt to drum up support for the Republican candidate. Trump, for his part, has publicly offered billionaire Musk a leadership position in his adminsitration, heading a government efficacy commission Trump said he would create if he were to win his reelection bid.
Then there's the support the tech titan has provided both in-person and virtually by attending campaign rallies and using his social media platform X to regularly promote conservative messaging.
And now that Trump has emerged as the victor over Vice President Kamala Harris, his connection with Musk is sure to attract more attention as he begins to set his agenda and fill his cabinet.
Here's what to know about the budding relationship between two of America's most powerful figures.
Presidential election: Donald Trump wins the election in stunning political comeback
Musk endorses Trump following assassination attempt
Musk, who had long been critical of the left and his perception of a "woke mind virus," didn't make his support of Trump official until July 13 when the former president was shot in an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally.
That same month, Musk denied a report from the Wall Street Journal that he pledged pledged $45 million per month to a new super political-action committee backing Trump’s presidential run. The denial came after Musk, CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, had previously said in March he would not donate to either the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns.
Musk has since donated an estimated $132 million to Trump and other Republicans in the 2024 election, according to Fortune, accounting for more than a third of their combined donations.
Trump offers Musk leadership role
In September, Trump revealed in a public speech his intentions to establish a government efficiency commission headed by Musk.
While he did not detail how such a commission would operate, besides saying it would develop a plan to eliminate "fraud and improper payments" within six months of being formed, he said Musk had agreed to head the body.
Musk said on an Aug. 19 podcast that he had held conversations with the former president about the matter and that he would be interested in serving on it. He also responded to the proposal on X, saying, "I look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises ... No pay, no title, no recognition is needed."
Musk campaigns for Trump online and at rallies
From there, the pair began to appear together in a series of public events, beginning Aug. 12 with a two-hour long interview streamed live on X.
Wearing darkened versions of Trump's signature "Make America Great Again" hats, Musk then appeared Oct. 5 with Trump at a campaign stop in Butler Pennsylvania and again Oct. 27 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Musk was one of several high-profile speakers at the most recent event in deep blue New York City, which was loaded with more entertainment than the typical rally.
Joe Rogan endorses Trump after interview with Musk
Mega-popular podcaster Joe Rogan endorsement of Trump on the eve of the election was spurred, he said, by his recent interview with Musk.
In Rogan's conversation with Musk, which will appear in an upcoming podcast, he said the tech mogul "makes what I think is the most compelling case for Trump you'll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way."
The host of “The Joe Rogan Experience" made the announcement after Rogan released a three-hour show with Trump.
Musk offers $1 million giveaways
Musk also drew some pushback after he announced Oct. 19 his intentions to give away $1 million every day until the election to someone who signed an online petition aiming to get signatures from registered voters in swing states.
Musk later stopped handing out the checks in late October as the move raised legal questions under federal election law the drew a warning from the Justice Department that they payments might be illegal. The giveaway also drew a challenge from the Philadelphia District Attorney's office that was later rejected by a judge.
Contributing: Sam Woodward, Josh Meyer, Zac Anderson, Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY; Reuters
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elon Musk joined forces with Trump ahead of reelection: A lookback