Where's Elon Musk? Trump's billionaire ally slowly drifts out of president's orbit

The Oval Office was crowded, with reporters cautioned not to collide with the Resolute desk. Standing beside them, dressed in black, was Elon Musk, billionaire ally of Donald Trump and head of his government efficiency drive.

- David Smith

"Elon is from South Africa. I don't want to get Elon involved," the US president told his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, during a discussion about crime against white farmers. "He actually came here on a different subject: sending rockets to Mars. He likes that better."

Musk's silence during the fraught, hourlong meeting last week was a small but telling reminder of his shift in Trump's orbit. He remains close to the president and welcome in the West Wing. But a relationship that many had forecast would end in an explosive collision of egos seems instead to be undergoing an inexorable tapering off.

In an analysis, Politico found there had been a sharp drop in the number of times that Trump had posted about Musk on his Truth Social platform, from an average of four times a week in February and March to zero since the start of April.

In February, Politico said, Trump invoked Musk in fundraising emails almost every day, with one message reading: "I love Elon Musk! The media wants to drive us apart, and it's not working. He's great."

But such mentions abruptly halted in early March, with the exception of one email in May advertising a "Gulf of America" hat that Musk had worn.

In addition, White House officials no longer fill their social media feeds with Musk-related content. Reporters seldom ask about him at the White House press briefing. Members of Congress are giving his name a wide berth.

Musk seems to be taking the hint. Last week, the Tesla chief executive said he had reduced his role as the head of the so-called "department of government efficiency" (Doge) to two days a week and would also cut his political spending - the latest signal he is shifting his attention back to his business empire amid growing investor concerns.