Trump bragging to friends Musk renting cottage from him at $2K a night: report

Elon Musk is sleeping near Donald Trump in a cottage at the Mar-a-Lago club that would normally cost at least $2,000 each night.

Musk is staying in the Banyan cottage several hundred feet from the big house, A source told The New York Times. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Banyan is an "unusually shaped tree" native to the Indian subcontinent that "spreads laterally indefinitely."

Sleeping on the property gives Musk access to Trump, which has only added to social media mockery that the South African-born CEO is the "shadow president."

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"Mr. Trump has bragged to people that Mr. Musk — the world’s richest man — is 'renting' one of the residential spaces at Mar-a-Lago," the report said. "It is unclear how much Mr. Musk will ultimately end up paying for the cottage, which historically has rented for at least $2,000 a night, according to a person with knowledge of the fees."

Musk began staying at the country club on Election Day, so he would have accumulated a bill of at least $110,000 in the past 55 days, though he's said to have abandoned the cottage for Christmas. This adds to more than a quarter of a billion dollars in donations supporting the incoming president over the past year.

Higher-priced demands also include meals outside of normal kitchen hours. He brought along at least two of his 11 children and their nannies. One of the several mothers of a Musk child, Shivon Zilis, was photographed at Mar-a-Lago after the election as well.

"Officials at the club do not typically bill guests until the end of their stay, leaving open the possibility that Mr. Trump will choose not to charge Mr. Musk, or to reduce the size of his bill. But Mr. Trump is not known to shy away from income opportunities," said the report.

Being on the president-elect's doorstep means he can join in on meetings and dinners, like the one with rival billionaire Jeff Bezos.

This doesn't mean that Vice President-to-be J.D. Vance has handed over his duties, as a source told the Times. He also stayed in one of the cottages when he visited.

"Others are said to have used cottages since Election Day. But few have been as omnipresent as Mr. Musk," said the report.

The reporters also speculated that Musk won't have the same access to Trump when he's in the White House as he does at Mar-a-Lago.

"Coming and going in the West Wing is more onerous than at Mr. Trump’s private clubs, as is access to the White House residence," said the Times.

When Trump was first elected in 2016, he increased the membership of Mar-a-Lago from $100,000 to $200,000. The report said that the cost is now $1 million.