Tech billionaire Elon Musk has apparently taken up a residency at President-elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
The SpaceX and Tesla CEO has been at Mar-a-Lago "almost every day since Trump won the election," CNN reported. When he's not playing golf or dining with the president-elect, he's sitting in on calls with world leaders and weighing in on staffing decisions, "making clear his preference for certain roles."
"While Musk himself is still not expected to take any kind of formal position, given how complicated it would be with his companies, what's becoming clearer tonight is that he doesn't really need to – with one source telling me Elon Musk is having just as much influence from the outside," CNN Anchor Kaitlan Collins said Sunday night.
Musk even boasted on X that he's "happy to be first buddy," after a reporter gave him the nickname. And that might not be a bad position for sharing his unconventional ideas for reimagining the government.
"Musk thinks differently and is bringing fresh eyes and his unique brain to government structures and systems that can be 70+ years old. We hear Trump drinks it in, debating and stress-testing the torrent of ideas from Musk, whose instinct is to start with a blank sheet of paper when determining government staffing," Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei reported for Axios.
"Some of Musk's free-flowing ideas for government are impractical. But some of them are sure to be tried," they added.
It may not be long, however, before Musk outwears his welcome. He's been likened to the "guest that wouldn't leave," with tech journalist Kara Swisher saying he's "not going anywhere until Trump throws him out. Which could happen, because they're both really strong personalities who like to be at the center of attention."
Trump has already announced several cabinet picks and other White House appointments and nominations, including: Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff; Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy; Tom Homan for 'Border Czar'; Elise Stefanik for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Mike Huckabee for U.S. ambassador to Israel; Lee Zeldin for the Environmental Protection Agency; Kristi Noem for Homeland Security Secretary.
Meanwhile, Musk's America PAC spent about $200 million to help elect Trump to a second term, according to The Associated Press. The money was reportedly used to target first-time and low-propensity voters.
Thanks to Musk's PAC, the Trump campaign was able to help increase voter turnout in deep-red areas of the United States.
"By conserving hard dollars, we were able to go wider and deeper on paid voter contact and advertising programs," Trump campaign political director James Blair, told the AP.