Elon Musk ‘Truly Is Untouchable Right Now’

Barely 10 days into Donald Trump’s second term, Elon Musk appears largely immune from the vicious, intramural power struggles over White House policy that are all too common among presidential allies. That’s because Musk—with his bottomless bank account and media megaphone—currently occupies a position of near-unparalleled access, reverence, and even fear that is eclipsed by few others in Trump’s extended orbit, more than half-dozen sources tell The Dispatch.

“Right now, he’s bulletproof,” a Republican operative said of Musk, the 53-year-old billionaire businessman who is leading Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. Several Republican insiders and conservative activists, who requested anonymity to discuss both Musk and the president, offered similar views.

Upon unexpectedly entering the White House for his first term, Trump was surrounded by a tiny but dedicated group of loyalists, primarily family members. Now as the president begins his second term, he has a much-expanded list of reliable supporters he could count to enact his agenda. Notable exceptions aside, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and eldest son Donald Trump Jr., Musk towers (politically) over them all. 

That’s due partially to Musk’s fame as the driving force behind Tesla and SpaceX, and the fortune these and other companies have made him. Another factor is Musk’s ownership of X, the social media platform he purchased when it was known as Twitter and has used to amplify far-right populist commentary. There’s also the fact that Musk spent $250 million of his own money to boost Trump over Kamala Harris in 2024.

This unique combination of personal, professional, and political attributes has earned Musk both respect and goodwill on the right. 

Indeed, many Republicans and conservative activists feel a sense of gratitude and validation that Musk, who like most technology industry executives formerly supported Democrats, is now on their side. There’s also the fear factor. Musk lords over one of the world’s largest digital information platforms and can afford to spend hundreds of millions on politics. Crossing him publicly is not without risk. Musk might not be the most powerful figure in Trump’s circle, but only he comes close to matching the capabilities and strength the president wields versus political opponents.

“Musk truly is untouchable right now,” a Republican lobbyist told The Dispatch. “Everyone is scared of him.”

That doesn’t mean Musk has unfettered access to Trump. 

The president has empowered Wiles to run a West Wing that is less freewheeling than during his first term. Nor has Musk escaped criticism from conservative and “Make America Great Again” activists generally, as was the case when he publicized his support for the federal government issuing H-1B visas, designed to accelerate U.S. admission of high-skilled immigrants who can immediately fill technology industry jobs. (As Reuters reported, on this issue, Trump “sided with Musk.”)

But few, if any of the president’s supporters, have been willing to take Musk to the woodshed. “I have heard ZERO about any of this other than the [Steve] Bannon stuff,” one GOP lobbyist told The Dispatch. “Unless someone else can shoot an even bigger rocket into space and then catch it with chopsticks in the exact location it launched from, then hell no.” 

Bannon, a top Trump campaign and White House adviser in 2016 and 2017, now hosts War Room, a podcast and video program that emerged over the past four years as a key voice of the new MAGA establishment of political groups and media outlets. In a telephone interview with The Dispatch this week, Bannon claimed there is more unhappiness with Musk on the right than is publicly apparent—including from inside the White House.

“They’re afraid,” Bannon said. “I get, everyday, dozens of phone calls, of people, from the White House staff and outside, supporting what I’m doing.” 

“Some of the stuff [Musk] does is quite good,” Bannon continued, citing Musk’s campaign contributions that helped fund voter turnout efforts. “He deserves a seat at the table—the table shouldn’t be the Cabinet room; he shouldn’t be at the head of it.”

Bannon said Musk’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), dealings related to Tesla doing business in China, is problematic. “I’ve always had a problem with this closeness with the CCP and quite frankly [his position] of influence with the CCP. He’s a cheerleader for them—has been. On their 100th anniversary, we’re condemning them, putting on conferences to condemn them, he’s saying how great … they are. He never criticizes the Chinese Communist Party.”

The White House did not comment when asked to respond to Bannon’s remarks, but some in the GOP see Bannon’s criticism as self-serving. “Bannon is basically using Elon to elevate himself,” one Republican operative with Trumpworld ties said. “Bannon versus Elon conveniently elevates him to an equal of the richest man in the world—Bannon is no dummy when it comes to picking his battles.” 

Ultimately, Musk’s fate with the Trump administration rests with the president.

Trump has a history of placing a great deal of trust in fierce loyalists and giving them broad latitude to use their relationship with him to throw their weight around in internal battles. But Trump also has a history of souring on these same loyalists, and ejecting them from his circle of trust, especially if he concludes they are using proximity to him for selfish ends or threatening to cast a shadow on his star. Bannon has experienced both ends of this pendulum; so has close confidant Corey Lewandowski.

Those are the risks Musk has to mitigate to maintain his exalted status.

“The danger is that he has his own point of view and is very public—he’s probably the most quoted person in the world,” a veteran Republican operative supportive of Trump told The Dispatch. “Trump views himself as the most important voice. He views [Musk] as advantageous now but for how long?”