At the Saudi-US Investment Forum, Tesla CEO Elon Musk once again became the focus. The world's richest man, known as Trump's "number one close friend", not only announced a new cooperation with Saudi Arabia, but also occupied a core position on the political and business stage with his special identity. Although Musk has withdrawn from the full-time job of the Trump administration’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), his business empire continues to expand in the political and business ties.

Musk attended the meeting with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Ultraman, etc., but Musk was arranged to appear before Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Salman made speeches.

As Trump's "number one friend", Musk makes a big profit in Saudi Arabia

CNN reported that in a conversation with Saudi Communications and Information Technology Minister Abdullah Al-Swaha, Musk revealed the new cooperation reached with the Saudi government: "Thanks to Saudi Arabia for approving Starlink for its maritime and aviation."

Al Swaha hinted that Musk may introduce Tesla's self-driving taxis to Saudi Arabia (Tesla just entered the country's market in April this year). Musk has not forgotten to promote other companies under his jurisdiction: Boring Company and artificial intelligence company xAI.

The Saudi cooperation between Starlink and Tesla is just the tip of the iceberg. Since Trump's victory last year, Musk's company has made a broader global stage due to its intimacy with the White House. Long before Trump took office, companies such as SpaceX had already made great profits from government contracts.

When Tesla encountered protests and destruction earlier this year, Trump even "advertising" it in disguise at the White House. Attorney General Pam Bondi publicly threatened that any person who destroys Tesla facilities would face several years in prison, demonstrating that the government is not only willing to stand up for Tesla, but also uses judicial weapons to escort it.

The Washington Post recently reported that some countries facing tariffs signed contracts with Starlink during Trump's tenure, which may be regarded as a stepping stone to improve relations with the United States. For example, the Lesotho government hopes to "show its welcome attitude towards American companies" by approving Starlink. NBC found that after Trump took office, several federal regulatory investigations against Musk's companies were quietly terminated, such as the Justice Department's lawsuit against SpaceX.

The New York Times disclosed that SpaceX is expected to benefit from the growth of the federal budget, and the tunnel company is negotiating with the government to participate in the large-scale American Railway project. Even Musk's $44 billion acquisition of X platform has benefited a lot - although advertisers fled due to the surge in hate speech on the platform, X has become the official voice-over of the Trump administration, and some institutions even use it as the only official communication channel.

Musk declared that he would "intermittently participate in government affairs", but as long as Trump is in power, his business empire and power will continue. (International Financial News)