Elon Musk’s White House Comeback Shows A Truce With Trump And A Bet On Saudi Ties
Elon Musk has quietly returned to the White House, attending a black-tie dinner in honor of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, months after a falling-out with President Donald Trump over taxes and spending.
The guest list underlined the importance of the evening: Apple’s Tim Cook, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, AMD’s Lisa Su, Salesforce’s Marc Benioff, Paramount’s David Ellison and other corporate heavyweights, alongside football star Cristiano Ronaldo and senior Republican leaders.
For a businessman who recently said he had “done enough” in politics, Musk’s presence signaled that neither he nor Trump is ready to walk away from a relationship that still serves both.
Earlier this year, Trump put Musk at the center of the Department of Government Efficiency, making him the public face of a drive to slash federal spending and regulation. Musk became the biggest individual donor of the 2024 election cycle, channeling almost all of his money toward Trump.
Their alliance shattered when Trump pushed a sweeping tax-cut bill that Musk warned would blow up the deficit and distort incentives for electric vehicles. The clash spilled into social media and Musk resigned his Washington role in May.
A dinner where money, power and tech collide
The political experiment came at a cost. Tesla’s brand was dented as some consumers began to associate its cars with Musk’s persona, while investors worried he was spending too much time in Washington.
Yet Tesla chair Robyn Denholm has made clear that Musk remains free to engage in future campaigns, as long as he delivers on performance targets tied to a proposed one-trillion-dollar pay package.
Trump, for his part, used the dinner with Mohammed bin Salman to showcase a tighter U.S.–Saudi partnership, including plans to sell nearly 300 American-made tanks and deepen defense cooperation, even as rights advocates renew criticism of the crown prince’s record.
For readers outside the United States, the message is simple: when the world’s richest entrepreneur, the White House and Saudi oil money sit at the same table, choices on energy, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and defense are being shaped before any law is written.
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