Elon Musk returned to the White House on Tuesday, a sign that tensions between US President Donald Trump and the world's richest man have thawed. The pair's once-close relationship collapsed earlier this year amid bitter disagreements over government deficit spending.
Musk was invited to attend a grand dinner hosted for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Other business giants invited include Tim Cook, David Ellison, Marc Benioff, Bill Ackman and Jen-Hsun Huang. Others include sports star Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as Republican political leaders including Vice President J.D. Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Musk's political influence has waned since his political peak earlier this year during his rapprochement with Trump. The "Department of Government Effectiveness" he led at the time was the executive agency for the Trump administration's spending cuts. He was the largest single donor to the 2024 election, and almost all of his donations were used to support Trump.
His months-long political campaign has damaged Tesla's brand, with consumers associating Tesla vehicles with Musk's right-wing political activities and investors worried that his time in Washington will distract him from continuing to innovate.
Musk left the White House in May, not long after he publicly broke with Trump over his tax cut bill. He himself seemed disheartened by his political experience. He later threatened to create a third party to challenge the Democratic and Republican "duopoly" and said he had "done enough" in donating to Republican candidates. Several Republicans, including Vance, have since been trying to find ways to bring Musk back into the fold.
Tesla Chairman Robin Denome has said that Musk has ample scope to participate in future electoral campaigns as long as he can meet performance targets tied to his $1 trillion compensation package.