New report highlights Elon Musk's literal closeness to Trump

In the eight weeks since Election Day, Elon Musk has effectively been Donald Trump’s shadow. The president-elect met with foreign officials? There was Musk. The Republican dined with prominent business leaders? There was Musk. Have new administration officials interviewed potential candidates? There was Musk. Trump enjoyed a social evening at his glorified country club? There was Musk.

The more the billionaire megadonor maintained an omnipresent role alongside the president-elect, the more some observers asked themselves an unavoidable question: What did Musk do, move to Mar-a-Lago?

It turns out that this question seems to have an unexpected answer. The New York Times reported that in the weeks following Trump’s electoral victory, the richest individual in the world became the Republican’s tenant:

Mr. Musk is using one of the cottages available for rental on Mr. Trump’s property at Mar-a-Lago, the former home of the Marjorie Merriweather Post in Florida that Mr. Trump has transformed into a members-only club and hotel in the 1990s. according to two people with knowledge of the arrangement. The cabin where he resides, named Banyan, is several hundred yards from the main house, according to a person with knowledge of the property. Staying put gave Mr. Musk easy access to Mr. Trump.

The Times’ reporting has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, and it should be noted that when the newspaper reached out to both men for comment, they declined. That said, it’s been a few days since the article was first published, and neither Trump nor Musk have made any effort to deny the apparent arrangement.

The report, if accurate, sheds some light on how, exactly, the Republican megadonor has managed to maintain his proximity to the president-elect: Musk, eager to retain as much influence as possible, appears to have become the next door neighbor of Trump.

The Times report continued by noting, “Mr. It is unlikely that Elon Musk will have such unrestricted physical access to Mr. Trump after the president-elect is sworn in on January 20 in Washington. Getting to and from the West Wing is more expensive than Mr. Trump’s private clubs, as is access to the White House residence.

Maybe. It’s certainly possible that Musk will take advantage of the pre-inauguration period, effectively setting up shop at Mar-a-Lago to ensure near-constant access to the president-elect before the second Trump administration begins in earnest.

But would anyone be shocked if Trump also gave Musk an office in the White House complex? Eisenhower’s Executive Office Building, located a minute’s walk from the West Wing, has plenty of space, and it’s easy to imagine the new president asking his team to set aside space for the self- saying “Department of Government Effectiveness”. ensuring that the billionaire would retain his ability to make frequent stops at the Oval Office.