Donald Trump will be the one in the Oval Office, but Elon Musk plans to be pulling the strings. 

The world’s richest man spent at least $277 million dollars backing Donald Trump and other Republican candidates — and he expects to get a good return on his investment. 

Taking a page out of Trump’s own playbook, Musk expects that…

CLIP: “When I call, they’re there for me.”

Musk started a super PAC that took over Trump’s get-out-the-vote operation in key swing states. 

The operation was rife with worker exploitation: canvassers faced unsafe working conditions and alleged they were tricked and threatened during their employment.

Musk also turned his social media platform X into the biggest pro-Trump megaphone in the world. In 2024, he posted at least 87 false or misleading election claims on X to his over 200 million followers. 

Those claims got a total of 2 billion views — and none of them had a “community note” from X’s supposed fact-checking system. 

Multiple studies indicate that Musk changed the platform’s algorithm to boost his own posts, and pro-Trump accounts, while stifling opposing views.

So why did Musk go all in on electing Trump?

Because Donald Trump is Elon Musk’s best chance at wielding the most power over our economy and democracy.

In the month after Trump was elected, Musk’s personal fortune jumped by over $180 billion dollars — yes, with a B.

He stands to benefit even more during Trump’s presidency. One of Musk’s biggest customers is the federal government. With a direct line to Trump, Musk will surely secure even more government contracts.

Just two of Musk’s companies, Tesla and SpaceX, have accounted for nearly $20 billion dollars in government contracts over the past 16 years. 

Last year alone, his companies were awarded 100 different contracts with 17 federal agencies. 

Many of these contracts have effectively enabled Musk to operate as a monopolist. SpaceX has cornered much of the rocket-launch market and his Starlink satellites have become crucial to the nation’s security, with nearly two-thirds of all active satellites now orbiting the Earth controlled by Musk. With his own puppet president in the White House, Musk can pull the strings to expand his influence and his wealth even more.

Musk will also likely have a chance to escape accountability for exploiting his workers and breaking laws aimed at protecting the public. 

Over the years, at least eight federal agencies have fined, investigated, or charged Musk’s companies with a variety of violations. 

At the time of the election, the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees workers’ rights, had 15 unfair labor practice investigations against Tesla. 

It also issued a complaint against SpaceX, alleging the company unlawfully fired eight workers who circulated a letter critical of Musk.

After the election,Trump named Musk co-chair of the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency.” 

Musk has suggested cutting $2 trillion dollars in spending – which could require cutting Social Security, Medicare, and other programs people rely on. 

He’s also targeted agencies designed to protect you, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

While Musk’s DOGE doesn’t have any direct authority, his grip on Trump has been so strong that Trump allies have called him “co-president.”

In any event, Musk has already shown he can use X to weaponize his followers to shape the government according to his whims. 

A billionaire shadow president like Musk is the inevitable and tragic consequence of the disastrous Citizens United decision that opened the floodgates for big money to dominate our democracy. 

Since 2010, billionaire political spending has increased more than 300-fold.

Elon Musk’s unprecedented spending, and his control over a key communication platform, takes this corruption to a whole new level. 

By pulling the strings of his puppet, Trump, Musk can line his pockets with taxpayer dollars and gut the federal agencies investigating him. 

He can both enrich himself and escape any consequences for hurting people along the way.

This isn’t just Trump’s second presidency. It’s Elon Musk’s first. 

As we plan to fight this administration over the next four years, it’s crucial to know where the power really lies.