Trump’s Gulf Trip Also Brought Benefits to Elon Musk

Middle East|Gulf Deal-Making Spree Also Benefited Elon Musk and His Family

President Trump’s recent trip to the Persian Gulf was notable for the ways that American foreign policy overlapped with his family’s business interests. But another powerful White House figure also cut lucrative deals in the region last week: Elon Musk.

Tagging along on Mr. Trump’s state visit to Saudi Arabia last week, Mr. Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, announced that his company SpaceX had secured approval to provide its Starlink satellite internet services to companies there.

As Mr. Trump carried on to Abu Dhabi, where the financial district’s towers were illuminated to resemble American flags, Mr. Musk’s company Neuralink announced a deal. That company, which makes implantable brain chips, said it would conduct a clinical trial in Abu Dhabi with the local health ministry.

The terms of both deals were not disclosed. On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that SpaceX was in talks over providing internet service to Emirates Airlines, which is owned by the government.

Mr. Musk occupies a unique role, even for an administration that has shattered norms around governance and private deal-making. He has attended cabinet meetings and wields incredible power to cut programs across the government — all while operating companies that profit from federal spending and foreign contracts.

He and his family have riches at stake in the Persian Gulf, a region whose autocratic monarchies have tried to cultivate closer ties to the West. In doing so, its leaders have courted international executives, invested in big-name sports leagues or teams and at times, authorities say, bribed lawmakers and their family members.