The cabin Musk uses has been used over the years by many of Trump’s friends and associates.
Years ago, before Trump became a presidential candidate, former President John Boehner stayed in Banyan with a friend.
Trump has boasted to people that Musk, the richest man in the world, is “renting” one of the residential spaces at Mar-a-Lago. It’s unclear how much Musk will end up paying for the cabin, which has historically rented for at least $2,000 a night, according to a person with knowledge of the rates.
Mar-A-Lago, Donald Trump’s estate in Palm Seaside, Florida, where Elon Musk has been using one of the cabins.Credit: Bloomberg
Club officials typically don’t bill guests until the end of their stay, leaving open the possibility that Trump may choose not to charge Musk or reduce the size of his bill. But Trump is not known to avoid income opportunities.
Musk moved into the cabin around Election Day and watched the results at Mar-a-Lago with Trump. He left the property around Christmas and is expected to return in the coming days.
Musk is known in the club for making requests such as meals outside of regular kitchen hours. During his stay at Mar-a-Lago, he was accompanied by at least two of his children (Musk is at least 11) and his babysitters.
Charging
One of his children’s mothers, Shivon Zilis, who worked for Musk at his brain implant company Neuralink, has also been photographed at Mar-a-Lago since the election.
Musk travels frequently and has been known to stay at friends’ properties. In San Francisco, he is known to be staying at the home of David Sacks, a venture capitalist whom Trump recently nominated to be an advisor on cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. While in Hawaii, he resided in places owned by billionaire Larry Ellison on the island of Lanai.
However, Mar-a-Lago is different in that it is a for-profit company owned by Trump and not a private home.
A spokesperson for the Trump transition did not respond to an email seeking comment on the deal. Musk did not respond to an email request for comment.
On Friday, in a post on Fact Social that appeared intended to be a private communication to Musk, Trump wrote: “Where are you? When are you coming to the ‘Center of the Universe’, Mar-a-Lago? Invoice Gates asked to come tonight. We miss you and x! New Year’s Eve is going to be AMAZING!!! “DJT.”
Elon Musk attended an America First Coverage Institute gala at Mar-a-Lago in November.Credit: Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times
Some of Trump’s advisers have privately complained about how much influence Musk has had on the transition and how inseparable he is from the president-elect.
It is unlikely that Musk will have such unlimited physical access to Trump after the president-elect is sworn in on January 20 in Washington. Coming and going in the West Wing is more onerous than in Trump’s private clubs, as is access to the White House residence.
Still, Trump has often liked bringing people together and has liked knowing that many of them pay for access to him. Since he first took office, people seeking to curry his favor – or spend face time with him – have joined his clubs, rented ballrooms at his properties or stayed in his hotels.
Trump reportedly increased the initial membership fee at Mar-a-Lago to $1 million.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Get a note directly from our foreigner correspondents about what’s making headlines around the world. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter What within the World.
