The meeting between Elon Musk and Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, which the Iranians deny took place, was indeed met with astonishment. However, it should not come as a surprise; not when it comes to Donald Trump's plans, and certainly not concerning the power and influence of the richest man in the world on the next president of the United States. Musk worked hard and invested his resources to help Trump win, and nothing comes for free.
When Musk bought Twitter two years ago, for the exorbitant sum of $44 billion, it seemed like another whim of a man for whom the only thing he has more than money is narcissism and nihilism. It is highly doubtful that he planned to use this platform to become the most influential private citizen in the history of American politics. Even if he did plan this, it is uncertain that he thought it would be so effective, and his connection with Trump at the time was quite chilly.
A lot has happened since then. Musk brought Trump back to the X platform, which he now owns, and began meeting with him regularly, all the time gaining influence. When Trump chose JD Vance as his vice president, it was clear that Musk was pulling a lot of strings. Without Musk's pressure (and another influential billionaire, Peter Thiel), Trump would never have selected someone who just a few years ago called him "American Hitler."
Later, Musk invested tens of millions of dollars in Trump's campaign. In doing so, Musk completed the biggest deal in his life: Since he wasn't born in the U.S., he couldn't run for president, but he had enough money to buy the position.
In the almost two weeks that have passed since the election, Elon Musk has hardly moved from Trump's side. Musk sat next to Trump in every meeting he held, no appointment happened without Musk's approval, and the most significant fact is that he participated in the first conversations that Trump held with foreign leaders, including Volodymyr Zelensky. Musk is very close to Vladimir Putin on the one hand, and as the owner of Starlink satellites, he literally holds the keys to the communication capabilities of the Ukrainian army.
It is equally unclear what Trump asked Musk to convey to Iran's ambassador to the UN, but the U.S. took a big step in the last election toward becoming an oligarchy, where an unelected billionaire has enough money to become a shadow president. Trump and Musk created a business and opportunistic partnership, they have no principles and they despise democracy. If the way to cosmetically reduce tension with Iran, one that will not solve any real problem, is through an Iranian partnership with SpaceX or the construction of Trump Tower in Tehran, then why not?
Tzippy ShmilovitzPhoto: Private albumAt one of the dinners at Mar-a-Lago last week, Musk entered the dining room after Trump. Those present stood on their feet and applauded him with the same intensity as they received Trump 30 minutes earlier. This entire partnership depends on the question of how far Trump's fragile ego will be able to withstand more scenes like this, and it turns out that the near future of the world also hangs in the balance.
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