Elon Musk has reportedly been paying rent while he resides at President-elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, in order to have "easy access" to Trump before his move to the White House, the New York Times reported on Monday.
Two people knowledgeable about the arrangement told the Times that Musk has been renting the Banyan cottage, which is several hundred feet from the main house.
According to the Times, this allows him far more access to Trump. Musk went to a private dinner earlier this month with the president-elect and Amazon founder and former CEO, Jeff Bezos. He has sat in on meetings with various world leaders and reportedly spends hours counseling Trump at his office in Florida.
The report comes amid growing concerns in Washington over Musk's influence on Trump. Musk spent an estimated quarter of a billion dollars to get the president-elect in office, according to Reuters. He's become a key advisor to Trump, and he asserted his influence earlier this month to try to stop the US government spending bill.
Trump's members-only resort has become the hub for his presidential transition team, of which Musk and his employees are key members.
Musk gets more heavily involved
The Times reported that various employees of Musk's have been involved in the presidential transition and have interviewed several candidates for high-ranking positions in the second Trump administration.
Several other incoming senior Trump administration officials have stayed for extended periods at Mar-a-Lago during the presidential transition, including Vice President-elect JD Vance. However, Musk has been a near-constant presence at the Florida resort, according to the Times.
He moved into the cottage around the time of November 5, left for the holiday season, and is expected to return to Florida shortly, the Times reported.
Two of Musk's 11 children are usually present with him at the resort in addition to their nannies. He's known to make requests like food outside of the on-site kitchen's hours, according to the Times.
In a post on his social media site, Truth Social, Trump posted what appeared to be a private message to Musk, who has previously described himself as Trump's "First Buddy."
“Where are you? When are you coming to the ‘Center of the Universe,’ Mar-a-Lago. Bill Gates asked to come, tonight. We miss you and x! New Year’s Eve is going to be AMAZING!!!” Trump wrote.
The Times reported that the Banyan cottage typically costs $2,000 a night. However, the resort does not officially bill guests until the end of the stay, meaning that Trump can choose whether or not to bill Musk for his stay. However, according to the report, the president-elect has bragged that Musk, the richest man in the world, is paying him rent.
Musk has been known to stay at his associate's houses, such as venture capitalist David Sacks or billionaire Larry Ellison. However, the difference between those stays and his current partial residence at Mar-a-Lago is that the latter is a for-profit resort, the Times noted.
The two will likely not be able to be as physically close to each other once Trump moves to the White House on January 20, as government security details are far more rigorous than at Mar-a-Lago.
Neither Trump nor Musk responded to requests for comment.