Can Elon & Trump Go the Distance?

The H-1B visa scrape, and Bannon’s attempt to drive a wedge between Musk and Trump’s MAGA faithful, has many inside Mar-a-Lago wondering just how long this political and ideological tryst can last. Some find that the world’s richest man undercuts the people who keep the trains running in Trumpworld, but his endless wealth has kept many in line.

Musk’s wealth and staggering influence has insulated him from a reckoning with the broader MAGA faithful, at least for now. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Tara Palmeri

January 17, 2025

It was somewhat odd to hear Joe Biden, in his farewell address, sounding a lot like Steve Bannon, warning about the “tech-industrial complex” and “an oligarchy taking shape.” But veiled animosity toward Elon Musk is one of a few things uniting the left and right these days, after Musk enraged the MAGA base with his vow to “fight to the death” to expand the H-1B visa program and bring more high-skilled foreign tech workers to America. Naturally, this positioning did not sit well with hardcore immigration restrictionists, who view the program as a Trojan horse for cheap labor.