At the same time, his Silicon Valley connections link him to Trump’s inner circle. Mr. Musk was a member of the so-called PayPal Mafia, a group of stakeholders who made their fortune when the payment processor was acquired for $1.5 billion and later became a huge investor and founder of the company.
PayPal founder Peter Thiel, an influential Republican who later hired JD Vance at his venture capital firm Mithril Capital Management, donated $10 million to his Ohio Senate campaign.
In March, Mr Musk met with Trump at his Florida resort. A few months later, Mr Musk hosted an “anti-Biden” dinner party, with Mr Thiel and Rupert Murdoch among the guests, according to US news reports.
Musk has donated money to both Democratic and Republican politicians in the past, but he insists he doesn’t donate directly to presidential campaigns, although he recently co-founded America PAC, a pro-Trump political action committee.
Political action committees can afford to spend huge sums of money to support candidates and causes, but Mr. Musk said reports that he donates $45 million a month to PACs are exaggerated.
Yet, just minutes after the attempted assassination of the former president last month, he tweeted, “I fully support President Trump and wish him a speedy recovery,” fully emphasizing his support for Trump.
President Trump appears to have mended his relationship with Mr Musk.
“I have great respect for Elon. He respects me,” he said at a news conference Thursday.
“Of all the people I know, Elon loves this country, loves the idea of this country, but he says, like I do, that this country is in great trouble and in great danger,” Trump said.
Musk has become a hero to an online group of mostly male supporters who share Trump's ideology but are reportedly distrustful of voters.
The Trump campaign appears to be targeting that demographic. For example, the former president recently interviewed “edgy” podcaster Adin Ross, who has been repeatedly banned from streaming site Twitch for violating its code of conduct.
“Donald Trump is scrambling to find a way to energize his campaign,” Broderick said. “He’s a showman, and I know Elon Musk has a similar instinct.”
But he doubted whether the two would get along if they actually met.
“They're talking to each other, they're circling each other, and I think it probably doesn't make much sense,” he said. “And maybe someone's going to say something crazy.”
The BBC has contacted X and the Trump campaign for comment.
The interview will be published online on Monday night.
