Musk, Trump and the social media blitz: Decoding an unlikely friendship

Elon Musk is pulling out all the stops on his social media platform X for his new best friend and POTUS hopeful: Donald Trump. Truly, Trump has never had a fiercer and full-throated defender than the celebrity CEO.

On Sunday, after an alleged assassination attempt on Trump at his golf course in Florida, Elon Musk wrote on ‘X’, “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.” This statement had a thinking-face emoji attached to it.

Quite a strong statement. One that was almost immediately deleted, of course, but not before it was viewed 30 million times. The morning after Taylor Swift announced that she supports Kamala Harris for presidency, in a post she signed as “Childless Cat Lady” — in reference to comments made by Trump’s running mate JD Vance. Elon Musk once again stood up for his buddy in his singular fashion.

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He wrote on X, “Fine Taylor…you win…I will give you a child and guard your cats.” He even went after Stephen King, acclaimed author, who himself tweeted in support of Swift’s endorsement, saying he loves Taylor Swift and her music. “What are your favourite TS songs?”, Musk challenged King on X, insinuating that in all probability Stephen King was not an audience of Swift’s music, a girl pop idol.

As inappropriate as Musk’s tweets seem, they align with his usual eccentric and foot-in-the-mouth sense of humour. The billionaire CEO doesn’t seem to care less, nor are there any real consequences for him to be concerned about. What appears to be the results of his shock value comments on social media, is his clear and unwavering support for Trump and a tsunami wave of publicity for both of them.

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They seem like unlikely candidates for such a strong brotherhood. One bats for reducing greenhouse emissions as his business’ major selling point, while the other makes a mockery out of most forms of renewable energy, branding it unnecessary and even, harmful.

Yes, they didn’t start as friends. They used to be ‘revolted’ by each other. In 2016, during Trump’s first bid for presidency of the United States, Musk denounced him, and said he’s not the man for the job. “He doesn’t seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States.” said Musk, going on to praise Hillary Clinton’s economic and environmental policies — both key to his businesses.

After Trump won the elections in 2016, very benevolently, he appointed Musk to two of his key economic advisory councils. Musk defended accepting these positions by reasoning that he would use them to lobby for better environmental decisions and immigration policies. Musk resigned from these roles in 2017, when the US pulled out of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

In 2020, in an interview, Trump again praised Elon Musk as “one of our greatest geniuses” and compared him to Thomas Edison.

In May of 2022, after Musk’s takeover of Twitter, now X, the first thing he did was to lift the ban on Trump, explaining that it was only right since he was a firm believer in free speech. A philosophy that he truly lives by, judging by his recent posts.

In July of 2022, Musk again publicly commented that he didn’t believe Trump should run for President again. “I don’t hate the man but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat and sail into the sunset,” he said.

Trump in response, lashed out at Musk, saying, “When Elon Musk came to the White House asking me for help on all of his subsidised projects… I could have said drop to your knees and beg — and he would have done it.”

One of the key moments when Musk’s politics changed was probably during Covid 2020. He was extremely disappointed in the way California handled the pandemic crisis. Due to California’s extremely restrictive policies to try and curb the spread of Covid, his automobile company Tesla, which was mainly based out of that state, suffered extensively. Also, strained relations with his trans daughter seemed to drive him against the “wokeness” that he believes the Democrats are pushing as an agenda. This very possibly contributed to his decision to align with Trump on such a deep and personal level in 2024.

Apart from these factors, they are very similar personalities at a core level. They are both highly successful businessmen and entrepreneurs with a deep emphasis on personal loyalty. They are famous for their impulsive and reckless natures and of course their politically incorrect statements on social media.

They also share an obsession with social media, both of them own a platform each: Elon Musk’s X and Donald Trump’s Truth Social. For better or for worse, they are now very close allies, indeed. Allegedly, Musk has also donated $45 million to a pro-Trump PAC (Political Action Committee). A number Musk refuses to officially corroborate.

This signifies a very special merger in the relationship between two men, who both enjoy an almost cult-leader adjacent worship and devotion from their followers and supporters.

While Trump is still not a fan of EVs, or pro-climate change actions, a large part of Musk’s financial benefits have come from the government’s backing of Tesla. SpaceX is almost entirely reliant on government contracts. There are already whispers of Musk taking on an important role in the government should there be a positive result for the Republican Party and Donald Trump.

Will this bromance last, and what’s next? We shall only know in November, If Trump manages a Triumph.

The author is a freelance journalist and features writer based out of Delhi. Her main areas of focus are politics, social issues, climate change and lifestyle-related topics. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.