“A star is born: Elon,” said Donald Trump in a lengthy shout out to his biggest donor while claiming victory in the US presidential race on Wednesday morning.
Trump’s impending win ushers in a new era for Musk — already the world’s richest person with a $260bn fortune — whose gamble on a knife-edge US election paid off as he is set to become one of the president’s most influential political and business advisers.
Musk’s promised role as head of a new Department of Government Efficiency will give the billionaire sweeping powers to recommend deep cuts to what he deems a “vast federal bureaucracy . . . holding America back in a big way”.