Trump dines with wife Melania and counsel Elon Musk as he picks his cabinet and celebrates mammoth election win

Donald Trump and wife Melania dined with Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago this weekend as the Tesla founder exerts his influence on the incoming administration. 

Video posted on social media showed the trio having a jolly dinner outside on the patio, smiling and chatting. Melania Trump and Elon Musk were dressed in black while the president-elect wore a suit with a yellow tie.

Trump has been celebrating his landslide win in the election with his supporters behind the closed-doors of his private club in Palm Beach. 

The president-elect’s regular table is always roped off but he works the room on his way to his seat, stopping to shake hands and talk to guests. He’s shown off his dance moves, posed for selfies and generally delighted in his victory.

In between the celebrations, he’s working on naming his White House staff and members of his cabinet.

A steady presence at his side throughout all this has been Musk, the 53-year-old founder of SpaceX and the richest man in the world. He’s been seen at Mar-a-Lago nearly every day. 

The ‘bromance’ between the two men has solidified since Trump won a second term in the White House.  

Musk, who was a fierce backer of Trump during the election, has joined transition meetings, sat in on calls with world leaders and endorsed in the Republican Senate leadership race. 

He’s not expected to take a formal position in a second Trump administration but he won’t have to: he’s already shown he has outsized influence and a direct line to Trump. 

Musk could, however be appointed to a blue-ribbon committee, CNN reported, where he would still have enormous access but would not be subject to government ethics rules. 

If a government employee, Musk would have to divest and separate himself from his private companies – Tesla, X, SpaceX, xAI and his brain-chip company Neuralink – or put assets in a blind trust to avoid conflicts of interest. 

The committee would look at slashing government spending and making a more efficient government.  

Musk was deeply invested in a Trump victory. He donated $119 million to a political action committee that helped elect the president-elect.

Now he’s making his thoughts known on how Trump’s second term should look. He could wield enormous power through installing deputies, allies and ideological partners at government agencies.

He’s pushed Trump to appoint some of his SpaceX executives to the Defense Department.  

This weekend, Musk endorsed Florida Senator Rick Scott, a Trump ally, over South Dakota Senator John Thune in the race for Republican leader in the Senate. 

Musk gave Scott his blessing after the senator quickly backed Trump’s demand that anyone vying to be leader support recess appointments for his nominees — a way for presidents to attempt to bypass Congress that Senate Democrats could essentially block. 

Scott is a former healthcare executive and the wealthiest sitting senator. Musk dissed Thune as the ‘top choice of Democrats.’ 

Musk was at Mar-a-Lago when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Trump to congratulate him on his victory. Trump put the Ukrainian president on speaker phone so Musk could participate in the call. 

Musk is not only close to Trump but also with his transition co-chair, Howard Lutnick — the billionaire CEO of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald.

He’s also close to Melania Trump, the incoming first lady.