The Doge department is a nod to the shiba inu doge meme that's also linked to the dogecoin cryptocurrency, named by Elon Musk as his "favorite" cryptocurrency and accepted as payment by his Tesla car company—though Tesla continues to hold around 10,000 bitcoin worth around $1 billion on its balance sheet.

In 2022, he donated Tesla shares worth $1.95 billion, and in 2021, he contributed approximately $5.74 billion to the Musk Foundation, his nonprofit organization.

Hyundai CEO Jose Munoz said he thinks the Tesla CEO's influence over the Trump administration may be positive for the rest of the auto industry.

Musk's Tesla stake rose by $111 billion — 65% — last year. All but $2 billion of Musk’s Tesla gain and about 98% of what other Tesla shareholders gained came after Election Day, when Musk began hanging out extensively with Donald Trump and started calling himself Trump’s “first buddy.

Elon Musk has quickly become one of the most outspoken supporters of Donald Trump, both during his presidential campaign and ahead of his inauguration. The Tesla CEO has spent quality time with the former and future president and has even spent the holidays with the Trump family in Mar-a-Lago.