The Blubber

After spending 130 days spearheading efforts to dismantle entire federal agencies, laying off tens of thousands of civil servants, and triggering a wave of lawsuits over potential misuse of Americans’ personal data, the world’s richest man received a unique token of appreciation: a gold-plated “Key to the White House” — a ceremonial item that can fetch nearly $8,000 on eBay.

Seated behind the Resolute Desk, President Donald Trump lauded Elon Musk for his tenure at the helm of the newly created “Department of Government Efficiency.” Musk’s service came to an end due to the expiration of his status as a Special Government Employee — a designation that allowed him to work unpaid and bypass financial disclosure rules, but only for a maximum of 130 days per year.

Trump called the Tesla and SpaceX CEO “one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced,” praising Musk’s leadership in what he described as “the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations.”

“Elon gave an incredible service. There’s nobody like him,” Trump said. “And he had to go through the slings and the arrows, which is a shame, because he’s an incredible patriot. The good news is that 90% of the country knows that, and they appreciate it, and they really appreciate what he did.”

To mark Musk’s departure, Trump presented him with a keepsake from his earlier presidency: an oversized, gold-plated key housed in a wooden presentation box, engraved with an image of the White House on the inside lid.

Musk, however, was not the first recipient of this symbolic gift. In his 2022 memoir Breaking History, Trump’s son-in-law and former senior adviser Jared Kushner recalled presenting the same item to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a September 2020 Oval Office meeting.