Meet Elon Musk, Our New Shadow President

ByJacob Silverman Photos: YouTube Screenshots Donald Trump may be the president-elect, but he got there by elevating Elon Musk practically to the level of co-running mate. The richest man in the world – who is tens of billions of dollars richer since Trump’s win – quickly eclipsed Vice President-elect JD Vance in the MAGA hierarchy. On the campaign trail, Musk merged the roles of mega-donor, surrogate, campaign strategist, celebrity endorser, and right-wing social-media influencer to a degree that made the Republican ticket as much about Musk and his reactionary, tech-futurist ambitions as it was about Trump and his doomer portrait of a rotten America overrun by migrants and crime. Empowered but doddering, the oldest man to be elected president will likely take on a familiar, limited set of duties after he storms back into the White House: signing off on right-wing legislation, delivering demagogic speeches, shitposting, golfing, and enjoying plenty of “executive time.” That will leave a large role for Musk, if he can seize it. Just as the feckless President George W. Bush allowed his imperial Vice President Dick Cheney to assume some presidential duties, Trump can be expected to delegate authority to his appointees and the array of...