At the Banquet Table Next to Trump... Musk Surpasses Melania, Confirming His Influence

Trump Sits with Musk, Singing and Dancing Together

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, who earned the nickname 'First Buddy' of President-elect Donald Trump, sat next to Trump at the Thanksgiving dinner, surpassing First Lady Melania Trump.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is dancing next to Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States, at the Thanksgiving dinner. X (formerly Twitter)

On the 29th (local time), CNN and other U.S. media reported that Musk attended the Thanksgiving dinner held at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida with the Trump family and sat at the head table. In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter), Musk was seen sitting to the right of President-elect Trump, with his son Barron Trump sitting to the left. First Lady Melania Trump was seated next to Barron. This arrangement placed Musk closer to Trump than Melania. French jewelry designer Yakov Safar told CNN, "Trump and Musk went around the room talking to all the guests," adding, "Trump enjoyed conversations on various topics with Barron and Musk."

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is dancing next to Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States, at the Thanksgiving dinner. X (formerly Twitter)

In the video, Musk attended wearing a black blazer and a T-shirt emblazoned with the 'X' logo. Trump and Musk appeared in high spirits as they danced to the song 'YMCA.' When an excited Trump tapped Musk on the back, Musk raised both arms and sang along. During the election campaign, Trump’s dancing to this song gained popularity online.

Musk was nominated as co-head of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Vivek Ramaswamy in Trump’s second-term administration. Since then, Musk has faced criticism for 'targeting' the Department of Defense by pointing out inefficiencies of the country’s stealth fighter F35 on X and publicly naming four officials with relatively vague climate-related roles.

Musk is known to have spent considerable time at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate after the election, and he was present when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Trump to congratulate him. The 'First Buddy' Musk has also grown close to the Trump family; notably, Trump’s granddaughter Kai posted a photo with Musk on social media, calling him 'uncle.' This has led to assessments that Musk is being treated like family by Trump.

Although there are limitations demonstrated by Howard Lutnick, whom Musk publicly supported for Treasury Secretary, being nominated as Commerce Secretary, and Lutnick’s rival Scott Bessent being nominated as Treasury Secretary, it is expected that Musk will exert some influence on personnel and policies in Trump’s second-term administration.