The left is right about one thing - Trump wants aggressive but loyal toadies who will not be able to survive if they betray him, because associating with him forced them to betray their previous fans (e.g., RFK was a liberal, Tulsi Gabbard was a Democrat).

If Elon wanted to steadfastly pursue his principles he would have stayed away from Trump, just given words of support. Becoming part of his inner circle means he is gambling on Trump succeeding and knows he can't safely alienate him.

You don't do that if you're a powerful person trying to make a difference. He's just greedy and power hungry.