X-factor: Elon set to be Trump's Musketeer

Barely a month after Elon Musk pulled off a groundbreaking landing of a reusable rocket back to its launchpad, the billionaire will be entering unchartered territory again but in a different realm. The SpaceX founder is now about to find out whether the biggest rocket he has ever launched - helping propel Donald Trump to presidency - will land back as smoothly as the Starship or ends up getting burned.

Musk, whose growing political apparatus has already proved its mettle, will gain more than just an ally in White House and is expected to be the most influential member of the Trump 2.0 inner circle. Trump has floated giving him an official role cutting govt spending - and with it the power to influence policy and federal agencies that oversee his vast empire of companies.

"He's a character. He's a special guy. He's a super genius," Trump said of Musk while addressing his supporters overnight. "We have to protect our geniuses. We do not have that many of them."

Already, shares in Tesla are surging. The stock climbed as much as 15% in early US trading as investors look to cash in on a Trump return to White House. Musk posted a chart Wednesday that he said showed record usage of X, his social network.

Trump said Musk's Starlink satellite service helped save "a lot of lives" during Hurricane Helene, which devastated southeastern US last month. "I said to Elon they need it really badly in North Carolina. Can you get it? He had that there so fast; it was incredible! It saved a lot of lives," Trump told his supporters.

Calling Musk "an amazing guy", Trump added, "We have a new star... a star is born - Elon! ... Elon does things only he can. Not Russia, not China, not the US other than him. That's why I love you, Elon."

Almost bidding to outdo the President-elect's wholesome praise for him, the tech billionaire posted on X: "Sure it was a lot of pressure, but it pales by comparison with President @real-DonaldTrump, who they tried to kill twice, bankrupt and imprison for eternity."

The world's richest man, who spent over $130 million on Trump and down-ballot Republicans in competitive House races, said, "America is a nation of builders. Soon, you will be free to build. The future is going to be fantastic."

Earlier in the day, as the results started trickling in, Musk led the meme brigade on social media with a series of posts ranging from acerbic to straight-up mockery. He reused his photo from 2022 when he had walked into the HQ of what was then Twitter with a sink. This time too, he gave the same caption "Let that sink in" but the background setting was inside White House.

In the last few months, Musk was Trump's most aggressive surrogate. He propped up Trump on X, hosted town halls in the critical state of Pennsylvania and appeared at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally with even higher billing than the Republican's own running mate - JD Vance.

On Election Day, Musk voted in Texas and then flew on his private jet to Florida to watch returns with Trump and his family at Mar-a-Lago.

"Musk is new to politics, but it means a lot for a billionaire and a tech mogul to go all in for Prez Trump," said Jondavid Longo, Pennsylvania state director of Early Vote Action, an organisation dedicated to registering Republican voters. Trump's win in Pennsylvania was key to his victory, helping him flip battleground states he had lost in 2020 but won in his first run for president in 2016. Musk donated $1 million to the group.

Musk has much to gain financially from the incoming administration. He oversees an empire of six companies, several of which are highly entangled with the US federal govt. SpaceX has become an increasingly vital partner to Nasa and the US defence department, with contracts worth billions. Tesla has staked its financial future on a pivot to autonomous robotaxis, a risky pursuit facing serious regulatory hurdles. X remains hugely influential.

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