Previously six months, Maye Musk, the mom of Elon Musk, has been to China, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates, visits that come as overseas leaders are jockeying for affect over the Trump administration.
Ms. Musk, 76, has for years traveled the world to mannequin, converse and promote her memoir. However recently she appears to be much more in demand, particularly exterior the US. And her celeb has taken on larger significance now that Mr. Musk has appreciable affect over how billions of {dollars} in navy spending and overseas assist will receives a commission out.
In late 2024, she visited China at the least 4 instances to endorse or mannequin for seven manufacturers there, together with make-up merchandise, down jackets and massage devices. Her visits have been promoted by state media shops, which up to now have quoted her calling for improved ties between the US and China.
In October, three weeks earlier than the U.S. presidential election, she headlined a forum on women in Kazakhstan, the place she spoke about her son’s success, in line with Kazinform, a state information company there.
And in January, the week earlier than Donald J. Trump’s second inauguration, she was in Dubai, talking at a authorities convention on influencers with the previous Fox Information character Tucker Carlson. Her speak was titled, “How I Raised Three Superb Kids, Together with the Richest Man within the World,” in line with the state-run Emirates News Agency.
All of those journeys have been taken after Mr. Musk turned a staunch supporter of Mr. Trump’s marketing campaign, and on a number of of them, she waded into U.S. politics.
A number of of the nations the place she just lately appeared have issues to press in Washington.
Beijing opposes newly introduced U.S. tariffs on its items, and leaders there seem to see Mr. Musk, who himself has extensive business interests in China, as a possible ally. Kazakhstan is hoping that the Trump administration will end restrictions on trade. And the United Arab Emirates buys weapons from Washington and has spent hundreds of millions on lobbyists and donations to suppose tanks.
Ms. Musk has lengthy traveled extensively for work, each inside the US and abroad. However her actions in China have intensified in current months, a overview of her social media posts over the previous 4 years by The New York Occasions discovered. She endorsed 5 Chinese language manufacturers final 12 months, whereas the 12 months earlier than, she traveled to China principally to advertise her guide and for modeling work, showing in a single advert.
The Occasions couldn’t verify how a lot Ms. Musk has earned abroad in current months. Though in her endorsements and speeches she usually emphasizes her connection to Mr. Musk, there isn’t any proof that she has sought to affect U.S. authorities coverage. Neither is there proof that she has taken work linked to China’s authorities.
Ms. Musk’s company, the Los Angeles-based Inventive Artists Company; her supervisor, Anna Sherman; and a lawyer who has just lately labored for Ms. Musk, Doreen Small, didn’t reply to questions on her worldwide engagements, together with how a lot she has earned for talking and endorsing merchandise. The 5 Chinese language manufacturers she endorsed final 12 months didn’t reply to questions on how a lot she was paid.
Her actions increase the chance that overseas governments may see her as a conduit to Mr. Musk, stated Scott Amey, the final counsel for the Venture on Authorities Oversight, a watchdog group. “The worry is,” he stated, “would individuals be utilizing her to get one diploma of separation from her son and two levels of separation from the Oval Workplace?”
Mr. Musk is already dogged by moral issues stemming from his companies resembling SpaceX, which has billions of dollars in Pentagon contracts. “We don’t want different potential conflicts of curiosity that contain his household to be added to his lengthy listing that already exists,” Mr. Amey stated.
The F.B.I. usually scrutinizes the overseas contacts of presidential advisers and their members of the family earlier than granting safety clearances. Contacts from nations seen as potential U.S. adversaries, like China, sometimes obtain extra scrutiny.
It’s unclear if Ms. Musk or her contacts have been vetted. The White Home has stated that her son is a “special government employee,” a short-term adviser who’s topic to federal ethics regulation, however has not disclosed his safety clearance standing. Earlier than becoming a member of the U.S. authorities, he had skirted reporting requirements as a federal contractor.
Mr. Musk and his lawyer, Alex Spiro, didn’t reply to questions on his clearance standing or his mom’s work abroad. He stated on X on Feb. 14 that he has had a “high secret clearance for a few years.”
It’s notable that each Mr. Musk and his mom have pursuits in China, stated Norman Eisen, a former White Home ethics counsel within the Obama administration and a founding father of the State Democracy Defenders Fund, which is suing Mr. Musk and his team on behalf of present and just lately laid-off federal staff. (Mr. Musk’s firm, Tesla, makes half its vehicles in China, for example.)
However Ms. Musk’s enterprise journeys to China and different nations independently deserve consideration, Mr. Eisen stated. “Given the exceptionally highly effective function of Mr. Musk, who will be the single most influential particular person within the govt department, even past Trump himself, these overseas entanglements are a trigger for concern,” he stated.
Mr. Musk usually seems in public along with his mom and, earlier than changing into a authorities adviser, introduced her to enterprise conferences at X, the social media firm he owns, in line with the guide “Character Restrict,” by Kate Conger and Ryan Mac, each reporters for The Occasions. Because the election, she has accompanied him to social occasions at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and defended her son on Fox Information.
Ms. Musk, who was born in Canada however raised Mr. Musk and his two youthful siblings in South Africa, has modeled for many years. In recent times, nonetheless, her profession took off in parallel with that of Mr. Musk. Her rise additionally mirrored an effort in fashion to work with fashions of various ages and physique varieties.
Ms. Musk, who has an condo in New York, has modeled for American and European manufacturers, showing on the quilt of Sports activities Illustrated’s swimsuit edition in 2022.
Lately she has developed a big following in China, the place a few of her success is tied to being the mom of Mr. Musk, who has star standing there. Followers and businesspeople carefully observe developments in his tech empire and pore over biographies of him, hoping to achieve insights.
His mom’s recognition in China comes amid strained relations with the US, as the specter of nonetheless extra tariffs and other tensions cling over the connection.
She has signed copies of her memoir, during which she writes about elevating her three kids as a single mom, and of surviving home abuse (which her former husband has denied). She opened accounts on Chinese language social media and has amassed 1.2 million followers throughout a number of platforms, the place followers thank her for being a job mannequin and ask questions on Mr. Musk.
Ms. Musk has visited greater than a dozen Chinese language cities, graced billboards and journal covers, and is commonly invited to talk (in English) at occasions geared towards girls there. Her picture “carries a component of profitable parenting, attracting a major variety of moms amongst her followers,” stated Yang Hu, an knowledgeable on China’s magnificence trade with Euromonitor Worldwide, a market analysis agency.
One in every of Ms. Musk’s Chinese language advert campaigns facilities on her being Mr. Musk’s mom. The advert, for a child care line, shows her encouraging disobedient kids, over the textual content, “No main determine of our time is raised following guidelines.”
Three days after the U.S. presidential election, she spoke about her son’s coming authorities function at an occasion in Shanghai to advertise a mattress model, saying, “He’s positively going to work on effectivity, however he actually likes rockets and vehicles,” in line with a clip posted by a state media outlet.
At New York Trend Week in February, Ms. Musk modeled for the Chinese language model Juzui. Earlier than taking to the runway, she advised Girls’s Put on Each day that she needs to discover work in new nations this 12 months.
Eric Lipton contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy contributed analysis.
