In the first weeks of Donald Trump’s second term in office, Elon Musk has been busy seizing control of instruments of government power, causing many to wonder who is really in charge. “Elon Musk is President,” The Atlantic ’s Jonathan Lemire declared. “There has never been a private citizen like him.”

The Japanese automaker announced on Wednesday that it would build a new EV and battery factory in Shanghai, after Tesla did the same in 2019.

China hits back with its own tariffs; Trump pauses tariffs on Mexico and Canada. China announced retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. goods immediately af

Musk, who last year said “things that inhibit freedom of exchange or distort the market are not good,” became $12 billion poorer Monday.

The party has struggled with how to respond to President Trump’s aggressive efforts to remake the federal bureaucracy and other controversies.

Elon Musk's control of a federal payment system is raising concerns about funding for programs like Social Security and the safety of personal data.

The confirmation of a Musk associate's access to the system codes came in a letter from a Treasury official to Democratic Senator Ron Wyden that said the review was being undertaken to "maximize payment integrity for agencies and the public".

The Treasury Department has defended DOGE's access to its payment system, explaining they only have "read-only access."