Elon Musk Giggles Through Awkward Trump Inaugural Eve Rally Appearance
Elon Musk made a surprise appearance, accompanied by his son, in the middle of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory rally as rumors swirl of an already-fractured relationship with his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) counterpart, Vivek Ramaswamy.
Trump invited the billionaire Tesla and SpaceX owner onstage at his pre-inauguration rally at Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C., where, with a smile and a giggle, he promised a roaring crowd of fans the incoming administration would make “significant changes” designed to make America strong “forever.”
Musk made brief remarks about his future work as the head of the “Department of Government Efficiency” alongside X AE A-XII, one of his 12 children.
BREAKING: Elon Musk's full speech today. pic.twitter.com/9Ii3tHkcuk
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) January 19, 2025
“Little X just followed me on the stage here,” Musk said, as his 4-year-old son jumped and waved his arms to a cheering crowd. “He’s a very enthusiastic supporter, as you can see.”
“We’re looking forward to making a lot of changes,” Musk said. “This victory is the start, really. What matters going forward is to actually make significant changes, cement those changes, and set the foundation for America to be strong for… a century. For centuries. Forever,” Musk stammered, while the crowd cheered and his son began jumping up and down just off camera. “And make America great again!” he added after a brief pause.
The rally saw performances by Trump-loving musicians including Kid Rock and the Village People, and speeches by family members and supporters—but notably none of his nominees for Cabinet positions or Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.
“So anyway, we’re going to do great things here. Thank you,” Musk said before Trump returned to the podium.
The president-elect then spent the next few minutes gassing up his wealthiest supporter, who has become a fixture at Mar-a-Lago since the election in November, labeling him a “genius” and praising his campaign efforts in Pennsylvania.
“You know, I always say we have to be protective of our geniuses, because we don’t have too many,” Trump said.
“We have him and Vivek,” Trump said, referencing Ramaswamy and DOGE, “and some great people working on a thing called costs. And he’s got the credibility to do it too.”
Trump made no mention of the apparent rumors at DOGE, including a report from CBS which claims Ramaswamy will quit to focus on his ambitions to become governor of Ohio.
“Vivek has worn out his welcome,” a Trumpworld source said, according to the report.
Trump also thanked Musk for his campaign efforts in Pennsylvania, the crucial swing state Trump won by about 120,000 votes, edging out his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris. Musk’s October sweep through the Keystone State included a controversial pledge to hand out $1 million checks to registered voters.
“He spent like a month and a half campaigning for me in Pennsylvania,” Trump said at the rally on Sunday. “He’s a popular guy, and he was very effective. And he knows those computers better than anybody. All those computers, those vote-counting computers, and we ended up winning Pennsylvania, like in a landslide, so it was pretty good.”
Trump also repeatedly praised the SpaceX CEO for the company’s recent success capturing booster rockets.
In October, SpaceX made history by successfully capturing a booster rocket with giant metal arms the company calls “chopsticks.” SpaceX successfully caught another booster rocket at its recent test flight last Thursday—although the Starship it launched fell apart midair.
But Trump was still fixated on the booster catch. “All of a sudden, those two big arms came and hugged it like you would hug your little baby,” he said at the rally Sunday. “And that sucker landed, and nobody’s been able to do that but him.”
He also heaped praise on little X, who he called both “cute as a button” and “a great guy.”
“His son’s name is X,” Trump told the crowd of supporters. “He’s the only guy who could get away with the name X. But his son is a great guy. One thing we know—his son is smart. If you believe in the racehorse theory, he’s got a nice smart son.”
It’s not the first time Trump has brought up the “racehorse theory,” which connects genes and parentage to intelligence or other characteristics.
In 2020, Trump brought up the theory while praising supporters in Minnesota for having “good genes.” During the 2024 campaign, he connected genes to criminality, telling a conservative radio host that migrant criminals had “bad genes.”