Featured Image Credit: Win McNamee / Staff via Getty
It looks like Elon Musk has come down with a chronic case of the politics bug, and although the head of the Department of Government Efficiency suggested he could soon be leaving the White House behind, the tech billionaire doesn't currently look like he's going anywhere just yet.
While it's fair to say that Donald Trump and Elon Musk have had their differences in the past, the pair have managed to bury the hatchet. The world's richest man was more than just a major donor to Trump's reelection campaign, proving influential on the campaign trail and since stepping up as the so-called 'First Buddy'. Things still haven't been easy with the pair, as Musk has pushed back on the POTUS' trade tariffs, while Trump has delivered a swear-filled rant about the tech mogul.
It's all water under the bridge, and despite Musk suggesting that he'd be stepping back from politics, he's joined the Commander-in-Chief on a political trip to Saudi Arabia.
Many are questioning why Musk is there with Trump, but he's not alone.
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Trump and Musk are joined by top US and Saudi officials, with dozens of business leaders from some of the US' biggest companies also in attendance.
As pointed out by The New York Times, representatives for four of the 10 biggest US companies (by market value) are in attendance at the Riyadh lunch, with OpenAI's Sam Altman being another familiar face. Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in artificial intelligence, and it's said that the likes of Altman will be there to lobby for the country's deep pockets.
Also on the exclusive guest list are Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Alphabet CIO Ruth Porat, Amazon chief Andy Jassy, and more.
All of the above are joined by financial leaders that include Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman, BlackRock's Larry Fink, and Citigroup's Jane Fraser.
In terms of Musk, his role within xAI and talks of it acquiring new financing that could bump its value up to $120 billion means his place at Trump's side makes a little more sense.
It’s not just Elon Musk that went to meet MBS and the government in Saudi Arabia.
— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) May 13, 2025
The CEOs of BlackRock, IBM, Amazon, Boeing, Google, Palantir, Halliburton, and more attended with Donald Trump.
Donald Trump froze the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, so I’m sure… pic.twitter.com/tdpgwKpwEc
Trump is due to speak at the US-Saudi investment summit, but while waiting for the POTUS to take to the stage, Musk also stopped by for a quick chat with Saudi Arabian minister Abdullah Alswaha.
After Musk was clapped onto the stage, he spoke about his 'curiosity' in business and was then thanked by Alswaha: "With the intelligence age, we could not be more appreciative of having a lifetime partner and a friend like you Elon to the kingdom.
"Joining hands on X AI, Starlink and Tesla... we look forward to continuing the partnership."
It's said that 'billions' of dollars are in play for key industries covering everything from aerospace to AI, and although many of these leaders have already met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on their trips to Saudi Arabia, it's hoped that deals can be sealed in person.
With Saudi Arabia looking for access to the advanced technologies of the US market, having a technical whizz like Musk on hand is likely to sweeten the deal.
