From Mars to Mar-a-Lago: Here's Elon Musk’s growing list of companies and roles

Elon Musk, already the busiest man in tech, just took on a new role: co-leading the unofficial “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) for President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration. It’s a job that fits right into Musk’s ever-growing collection of titles, giving him a foothold in government to match his outsized influence in everything from space exploration to social media.

Here’s the full rundown of Musk’s many hats:

1. Co-Leader of DOGE — Yes, That’s DOGE
Trump tapped Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to head up DOGE (no, not the cryptocurrency, though Musk is a fan) with a mission to slice through federal red tape. Trump joked that the pair will handle “excess regulations, wasteful spending, and bureaucratic bloat.” Trump even likened DOGE to the World War II-era Manhattan Project but aimed at bureaucracy instead of bombs. How this “entrepreneurial approach” to government will play out remains to be seen, but knowing Musk, it could be anything but conventional. Musk has become constant presence at Trump's estate Mar-a-Lago, where the president-elect of the US is planning his next term.  

2. CEO, Tesla
Musk’s best-known title, and likely his most lucrative, is as CEO of Tesla. The electric car juggernaut is a Wall Street favourite, hitting a rare $1 trillion market cap and bolstering Musk’s net worth to a jaw-dropping $335 billion this week. Investors are betting Musk’s friendship with Trump could drive some favourable treatment, keeping Tesla’s EVs on the road to domination. Plus, Tesla’s lineup of sleek EVs — the Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y — are now staples on American streets.

3. Owner of X (formerly Twitter)
Musk shook up the social media world when he bought Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, rebranded it as X, and made sweeping changes. While CEO Linda Yaccarino manages day-to-day operations, Musk still steers X’s direction with controversial tweaks: he reinstated banned accounts (like Trump’s), introduced new verification systems, and turned X into a platform for his own policy experiments. Musk calls it a “digital town square” essential for civilisation, but its critics aren’t as convinced.

4. Founder and CEO of SpaceX
Musk’s other iconic venture, SpaceX, has its sights set on Mars, aiming to establish a self-sustaining city on the red planet by 2050. SpaceX’s rockets are already launching regularly for NASA, and with Trump’s pro-space stance, Musk’s Martian ambitions might get a boost. Currently valued at around $210 billion, SpaceX is a testament to Musk’s otherworldly aspirations — literally.

5. Founder and CEO of The Boring Company
In 2017, Musk founded The Boring Company as a subsidiary of SpaceX to tackle urban congestion through underground tunnels. By 2018, it had spun off as an independent company, with Musk taking the helm as CEO. The Boring Company focuses on tunnel construction and infrastructure projects designed to ease traffic in major cities. Its flagship project, the “Loop” transit system, aims to create high-speed underground routes that bypass surface-level congestion, giving urban transportation a futuristic makeover

6. CEO and Cofounder of Neuralink
Less flashy but no less ambitious, Neuralink aims to connect human brains with computers. Musk’s brain-chip startup, Neuralink, recently implanted its device in two human patients, marking the beginning of its push to treat neurological issues and, someday, link minds to machines. It's a heady endeavour, but Musk’s track record shows he’s willing to think outside the box — or, in this case, the skull.

7. Founder of xAI
If taking on OpenAI wasn’t enough, Musk launched xAI, a competitor in the AI space, this year. Reportedly valued at over $40 billion, xAI aims to go toe-to-toe with OpenAI, the AI lab Musk helped start before stepping away. The rivalry has sparked interest in Silicon Valley and Washington, especially as AI becomes an increasingly hot topic.

The many hats of Musk
From leading a government department with a name straight out of a meme to tackling human-to-computer brain links, Musk is proving there may be no limit to his reach. As he continues to stack roles and influence, one thing’s clear: Elon Musk’s vision, whether in tech, space, or now government, isn’t getting any smaller.