Elon Musk has been inescapable in this election. How could he affect the results?

Elon Musk has emerged as a unique influence on the campaign in ways that set him apart from even the most politically active billionaires and tech elite.

He is all at once a vocal Trump surrogate, campaign mega-donor, informal policy adviser, media influencer and prolific source of online disinformation.

Few people in US history have possessed the mix of immense resources and intent to use them to sway an election.

Musk is a billionaire philanthropist who has spent large amounts of money on Republican political campaigns.

He is funding get-out-the-vote efforts in battleground states.

Musk is different from other wealthy donors in recent decades who have divided their political engagement into two styles.

He’s displaying “a kind of gleeful embrace of partisanship”, an expert in philanthropy says.

Musk wants to call it the Department of Government Efficiency , or Doge , invoking one of his favorite memes, an expressive shiba inu.

Trump said he would create a new position called “secretary of cost-cutting” and appoint Musk .

Musk ’s public rightward shift is an extension of years of allying himself with right wing leaders around the world.