Musk and Trump, a Bond Made in Merch

The bond between Elon Musk and President-elect Donald J. Trump is built not only on their shared interests in limited government, social media and golf, but also, it seems, on their common affinity for merch.

Not long after Mr. Trump’s announcement that Mr. Musk would join Vivek Ramaswamy as co-leaders of a new department of government efficiency, or DOGE, Mr. Musk took to X to let his approximately 204 million followers know: “The merch will be fire.” (Actually he wrote “the merch will be,” followed by three fire emojis, but we are paraphrasing.)

Even before it was clear what form the DOGE would take and before any staff members had been hired, Mr. Musk was thinking about the brand extensions. There have always been government souvenirs, including White House M&Ms and a House of Representatives brooch, but this was taking the promise of political shopping to a new level.

Merchandise has always been a part of Mr. Musk’s empire-building, just as it has been part of Mr. Trump’s. Mr. Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, has a digital storefront that sells assorted T-shirts (among other offerings), notably the “Occupy Mars” style that Mr. Musk often wore while stumping for Mr. Trump and various “Starship” logo looks, as well as other accessories. X has its own shop, featuring black-on-black logo caps and T-shirts that look a lot like the black “Make America Great Again” caps that Mr. Musk favors.

Even the Boring Company, Mr. Musk’s tunnel venture, has merch, most famously a fragrance called Burnt Hair that was introduced in 2022 for $100 a bottle with the tag line “the essence of repugnant desire.” The first drop of 10,000 bottles sold out in hours, according to news reports. (It is also currently sold out.) And Tesla has its own apparel and lifestyle collections, including a Foundation series of tees that Mr. Musk also wore on the campaign trail.

Merch has been a hallmark of Mr. Trump’s career as well. Not just Trump company-branded merch like ties and wine or Mar-a-Lago merch or campaign merch, but merch that furthers the narrative of his quest for power: sneakers with a map of the “Trump Nation” red states, gold watches and superhero NFTs.

Like Mr. Musk, Mr. Trump also has perfumes, including Fight Fight Fight cologne that comes in a box featuring the famous image of Mr. Trump with a raised fist. Like Mr. Trump, Mr. Musk also has sneakers: SpaceX-branded lace-ups.

Source: New York Times