Musk strikes Gulf deals during Trump’s Middle East visit, blurring lines between business and government

As US President Donald Trump conducted a high-profile state visit to the Persian Gulf last week, the spotlight wasn’t solely on US foreign policy. Tagging along on the diplomatic tour, Elon Musk announced a pair of business deals that signal the deepening overlap between American governance and his expanding global enterprise empire, the New York Times reported.

During Trump’s stop in Saudi Arabia, Musk revealed that his aerospace company, SpaceX, had secured approval to deliver Starlink satellite internet to companies in the kingdom. In neighbouring Abu Dhabi, Neuralink — Musk’s neurotechnology firm — announced it would launch a clinical brain chip trial in partnership with the UAE’s Ministry of Health. The terms of both deals remain undisclosed.

Business as diplomacy

While Trump’s visit was designed to cement US alliances and unlock new trade and defence agreements, Musk leveraged the diplomatic optics to court leaders for his own ventures. He reportedly attended official luncheons alongside Saudi and US officials and joined Trump in Abu Dhabi, where American flags were projected onto skyscrapers across the city’s financial district.

This week, Bloomberg reported that SpaceX is also in talks with Emirates Airlines, the UAE’s government-owned carrier, to provide in-flight Starlink connectivity.

Musk’s dual role — as a private entrepreneur and a policymaking insider with cabinet-level access — has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest. His companies receive significant federal contracts and subsidies, yet he retains wide latitude to shape or dismantle programmes within the Trump administration’s governance framework.

Ties that bind: the Musk family in the Gulf

Beyond Elon, other Musk family members are weaving their own connections across the Gulf. Kimbal Musk, Elon’s younger brother, accompanied the trip and announced that his drone performance company, Nova Sky Stories, had secured deals with Qatar and Abu Dhabi. One event in the UAE is expected to deploy 10,000 drones — what Kimbal calls the world’s largest light show.

Meanwhile, their father, Errol Musk, has made headlines with plans to erect a “Musk Tower” in Dubai. He claims the building will house the Musk Institute, a speculative technology hub focused on “gravity and space-time travel.” He says he is working with Abu Dhabi’s Al Khaili Group and raising funds through his digital currency, MuskIt — which has seen a dramatic drop in valuation from a claimed $500 million in February to under $1.5 million this week.

Though Errol and Elon have had a strained relationship, Errol told The New York Times that his sons had come around to his political perspective. “Both my boys have ‘seen the light,’” he said, referencing his early support for Trump.

The Trump-Musk business playbook

The convergence of business deals and political spectacle has become a recurring theme in the Trump administration. Trump family members, like Eric Trump, have also promoted their own digital currencies in the UAE. Last month, Eric helped launch a $2 billion partnership with a state-backed Emirati firm using Trump-branded cryptocurrency tokens.

In this context, Musk’s latest agreements in Saudi Arabia and the UAE reflect both personal opportunity and strategic alignment. His companies have long attracted investment from Gulf sovereign wealth funds and regional financiers, including Dubai-based Vy Capital. SpaceX already services Emirati satellite launches, and Musk’s Boring Company signed a deal earlier this year with Dubai’s transit authority for a tunnelling system beneath the city.

Elon Musk also signalled a desire to expand the Boring Company’s footprint into Saudi Arabia, saying last week in Riyadh that he’s eager to work with the kingdom.

Public-private blur in a high-stakes region

For Trump and Musk alike, the Gulf region represents both a diplomatic stage and a business sandbox — a place where autocratic regimes welcome Western capital and prestige, often with minimal regulatory friction.

Critics say the current administration’s openness to this entanglement between private wealth and statecraft risks undermining ethical norms and creating opportunities for influence-peddling.

But for Musk, the Persian Gulf offers more than market access — it offers scale, speed, and spectacle. Whether in satellite networks, brain-computer interfaces, or drone light shows, the Musks are finding fertile ground to grow their brand of futuristic capitalism in one of the world’s most geopolitically charged regions.