The transformation of Elon Musk from tech pioneer to Trump insider

Elon Musk's work in the Tech industry included founding SpaceX and cofounding PayPal. Musk seen here at his desk on March 19, 2004 in Los Angeles.

Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002. Seen here, Musk stands in front of parts of the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket at the company's headquarters in El Segundo, Calif. on Sept. 18, 2007.

Elon Musk invested in Tesla Motors in 2004. In 2008, then Tesla Motors chairman Elon Musk posed for USA TODAY with president and CEO Ze'ev Drori, left, in the Tesla Motors development facility in San Carlos, just south of San Francisco next to a Tesla Roadster.

Elon Musk CEO and Chief Product Architect for Tesla with a new Model S car outside the Tesla customer delivery area at the Tesla Fremont factory on June 21, 2012.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk unveils the company's new manned spacecraft, The Dragon V2, designed to carry astronauts into space during a news conference on May 29, 2014, in Hawthorne, California. The private spaceflight company has been flying unmanned capsules to the Space Station delivering cargo for the past two years. The Dragon V2 manned spacecraft will ferry up to seven astronauts to low-Earth orbit.

In this handout provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket makes its first successful upright landing on the "Of Course I Still Love You" droneship on April 8, 2016 some 200 miles off shore in the Atlantic Ocean after launching from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

President-elect Donald Trump sits with PayPal co-founder and Facebook board member Peter Thiel, Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook, Oracle CEO Safra Catz and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk during a meeting with technology leaders at Trump Tower in New York, December 14, 2016.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils the Cybertruck at the TeslaDesign Studio in Hawthorne, Calif. The cracked window glass occurred during a demonstration on the strength of the glass on Nov. 21, 2019 in Hawthorne, Calif.

This video grab made from an online Neuralink livestream shows Elon Musk standing next to a surgical robot during his Neuralink presentation on Aug. 28, 2020. Elon Musk's start-up Neuralink on May 25, 2023 said it has gotten approval from US regulators to test its brain implants in people. Neuralink said clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration for its first in-human clinical study is "an important first step" for its technology, which is intended to let brains interface directly with computers.

SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins and Soichi Noguchi wave to the crowd before heading to the launch pad Sunday, November 15, 2020. The four rode a Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the return of human spaceflight missions launched from the United States.

Elon Musk, Time's "Person of he Year" for 2021 is shown on the Time Magazine Person of the Year cover. Time magazine on December 13, 2021, named Tesla chief and space entrepreneur Elon Musk as its person of the year, citing his embodiment of the technological shifts but also troubling trends reshaping people's lives.

This video grab taken from a video posted on the Twitter account of billionaire Tesla chief Elon Musk on October 26, 2022 shows Musk carrying a sink as he enters the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco. Elon Musk changed his Twitter profile to "Chief Twit" and posted video of himself walking into the social network's California headquarters carrying a sink, days before his contentious takeover of the company must be finalized.

Elon Musk joins former President Donald Trump on stage as Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on Oct. 5, 2024.

President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk watch the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on Nov. 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. Space's billionaire owner, Elon Musk, a Trump confidante, was tapped to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency alongside former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), center left, hosts Elon Musk, left, carrying his son X Æ A-Xii, walking with Vivek Ramaswamy, center right, as the co-leads of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency arrive for meetings at the US Capitol on Dec. 5, 2024 in Washington.

President-elect Donald Trump, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Vice President-elect JD Vance attend the 125th Army-Navy football game at Northwest Stadium on Dec. 14, 2024 in Landover, Md.

Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO Elon Musk attends the inauguration ceremony of President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk with his son X Æ A-Xii join US President Donald Trump as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, February 11, 2025. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has been tapped by President Donald Trump to lead federal cost-cutting efforts, said the United States would go "bankrupt" without budget cuts. Musk leads the efforts under the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and was speaking at the White House with Trump, who has in recent weeks unleashed a flurry of orders aimed at slashing federal spending.

Elon Musk stands to acknowledge President Trump as he addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025.