Musk has attached himself to Trump – now he risks becoming his ball and chain ...Middle East

IN WASHINGTON – As the UK Government is convulsed by questions about how to handle the vicious, daily, and sometimes hourly attacks unleashed by Elon Musk, a similar question may soon be engulfing president-elect Donald Trump’s own administration.

Consider the position of Senator Marco Rubio. Within weeks, he is likely to become America’s next Secretary of State, succeeding Antony Blinken atop America’s foreign policy org chart. Shortly thereafter, he may choose to travel to Europe, making the predictable stops at Number 10, the Elysées Palace, and the German Chancellery.

Moments before he steps across Europe’s thresholds of power, as things currently stand he would be sensible to check his phone, just in case the richest man in the world has suddenly pulled the rug out from under him.

In London, the Prime Minister or the Foreign Secretary would be perfectly within their rights to demand that Trump places Musk on a leash, as a condition for any further conversations about pretty much anything.

That was the case even before Musk’s online attack last week against Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips that – at the very least – appeared to be inviting more far-right criticism of her, and possibly worse.

In Berlin, Chancellor Olaf Scholz or his successor would be entirely justified in telling Rubio (or Trump directly) that Musk’s ongoing intervention in Germany’s internal affairs is beyond the pale.

Musk has regularly targeted Scholz for criticism, and last month sparked uproar by endorsing the far-right “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) in an editorial for Welt am Sonntag that led to the principled resignation of the newspaper’s opinion editor. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency is monitoring the AfD as a suspected right-wing extremist organisation.

So far, Musk has gone relatively easy on French President Emmanuel Macron. It is possible that both Trump and Musk were genuinely touched by Macron’s generous invitation to attend the reopening of Notre-Dame last month, or that Musk is simply keeping his powder dry until a fresh opportunity exists for Marine Le Pen of the far-right Front National to confront the French establishment.

As soon as Trump takes the presidential oath of office in a fortnight, his Cabinet nominees and other top lieutenants may find Musk as much of an irritant as Europe’s leaders are currently experiencing. Named by Trump, alongside pharmaceutical billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, to head the still non-existent “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), Musk has attached himself to the president-elect like a barnacle. But he runs the risk of becoming Trump’s ball and chain.

Yvette Cooper defends Jess Phillips from Musk's scorn

The president-elect has offered no indication of just how much rope he is willing to give Musk once the administration officially gets underway. There is so much we do not know: is DOGE going to be imbued with any budget, staff, or physical offices? Will Musk himself have guaranteed entry to the White House 24/7, and will he physically reside in the nation’s capitol (local estate agents are agog about that possibility).

Most importantly, does Musk in any way speak for Trump, or is his account on “X” simply a reflection of his own personal views?

The personal is already political for the Tesla and SpaceX billionaire. He, and the other tech bros pledging fealty to Trump, are poised to use their influence to ensure their own wealth is protected, and safe from the interference of regulators whom Musk may soon enjoy the power to muzzle.

But Musk is in a different position from Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos or OpenAI’s Sam Altman. He’s on the inside, with some kind of official administration position (albeit undefined) and a megaphone that is already allowing him to sow unease in Europe. Imagine what that looks like when it’s deployed against some of Trump’s Cabinet members.

Several voices in Britain argue the Government and the media should ignore Musk, and stop providing him with the oxygen of publicity that he craves. Were he an entirely private citizen, that argument would carry more weight than it does at a time when Musk is about to enter the US Government in an opaque, but still powerful capacity.

How long will Trump tolerate him? Bets are already being laid in Washington about the number of weeks or months it will take for the power couple’s bromance to whither.

But for now, Trump appears beguiled by the man who donated $250m (£201m) to the president-elect’s campaign war chest. Soon, the frustrations of Europe’s leaders with Musk’s interventions may be matched by the anger of Trump’s own top insiders.

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