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He’s the spoiled brat of MAGA’s inner circle, openly thumbing his nose at “Daddy” Donald Trump while seemingly remaining the favored son.
Jealous big brother Steve Bannon, the former Trump adviser who once enjoyed a similar proximity to the president, declared war on his younger, wealthier nemesis months ago, vowing to have him banished by Jan. 20.
But that date has passed and Elon’s still standing, often by the president’s side.
This week, however, the Tesla CEO may have gone too far. Musk undermined Trump’s announcement on Tuesday of a $500 billion investment into artificial intelligence infrastructure by claiming the backers of the “Stargate project” have raised only a fraction of their proposed $500 billion investment.
He even reposted a joke that suggested the principals smoked crack “to come up with their $500 billion number for Stargate.”
Bannon seethed, telling reporters Musk “should not reverse what the president’s already talked about. It’s unacceptable and unsatisfactory. You see how out of control he is.”
Trump, asked about Musk’s intemperance at a press conference Friday, seemed to shrug it off.
“I mean, Elon doesn’t like one of those people,” Trump replied, referring to Musk’s disdain for OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, one of the major investors of the Stargate Project.
That’s it? No pink slip? Not even an insult? What does Musk have on the president?
“It’s clear he has abused the proximity to the president,” a Trump ally told Politico. “The problem is the president doesn’t have any leverage over him and Elon gives zero f—s.”
As Politico noted, “It is highly unusual for a senior adviser — Musk — to criticize a president’s initiatives in public, and his broadsides renewed speculation within GOP circles about whether he and Trump will eventually have a falling-out.”
But there are no signs of an imminent break-up. Trump is not one to hide his feelings, and while there have been reports he’s grown tired of Musk, the Starlink CEO retains almost unprecedented access to the president.
Musk even has an office in the West Wing, where he pilots the “Department of Government Efficiency,” an advisory commission created by Trump to eliminate waste in the federal government.
“We are now working with him to make sense of his ideas — ideas are innovative. Execution not so much,” a White House official told Politico.
Bannon called on chief of staff Susie Wiles to “sit (Musk) down” and “sort it out immediately.”
He should know by now: No one puts Elon in a corner.
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