When Donald Trump declared victory in the US presidential election, he told an adoring crowd that "a star is born". He was referring to Elon Musk.

After months of reporting on the billionaire's use of private investigators, Alexi Mostrous asks whether the insights he gained from that investigation reveal how Musk will operate in his new political era, and what that means for everything in his orbit.

Reported and produced by: Alexi Mostrous, Gary Marshall, Matt Russell & Patricia Clarke. 

Sound design: Bart Warshaw 

Original music: Tom Kinsella

Podcast artwork: Jon Hill

Executive producer: Basia Cummings 

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.