Billionaire Elon Musk has been using his social media platform X to go to bat for President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks and promote his own preferred candidates, advocating for choices he views as change agents who will help remake the U.S. government.

In several high-profile cases, however, Musk backed people who either lost out on the roles or withdrew from consideration, suggesting some early limits to the Republican mega donor's influence even as he has emerged as one of Trump's most powerful allies.

Musk, who has 206 million followers on X, posted or reposted about Trump's cabinet picks more than 70 times between Nov. 7 and Nov. 20, a Reuters review found.

Though the posts represented just a fraction of his more than 2,000 posts during that period, Musk in many cases used them to give attention to Trump's most controversial choices, including former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for U.S. intelligence chief and environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr to lead the top U.S. health agency.

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Musk most enthusiastically rallied support for Matt Gaetz, the former congressman Trump initially tapped to be his attorney general.

Gaetz backed out of consideration on Nov. 21, saying his candidacy had become a distraction for Trump amid allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug abuse. He has denied wrongdoing.

For Trump's Treasury secretary, Musk pushed for Wall Street financier Howard Lutnick over hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, whom Musk dismissed as "a business-as-usual choice." Bessent got the job anyway.

And in a separate fight over Senate leadership, Musk's endorsed candidate also came up short.

One Trump ally said those misses showed the limitations of Musk's sway.

Musk's reach on X "doesn't mean he's an effective advocate for his positions or chosen cabinet members," the Trump ally said. "He's still learning how to operate in politics."

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Another test of Musk's influence lies ahead. Since the election, he has posted six times in support of Trump loyalist Kash Patel running the FBI.

Patel, who served on Trump's National Security Council during his first term, has promised to go after politicians and journalists perceived to be enemies of Trump. Musk's X posts make clear that he sees Patel as the best option for change and reform.

"I think we have to, moving forward, to ask the question, is the tail wagging the dog? By which I mean, who is leading on whom? Is Musk using Trump or is Trump using Musk?" Steven Livingston, the Founding Director of the Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics (IDDP) and Professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, told Reuters in an interview on Sunday (November 24).

"Musk sees an opportunity to further his own interests, and that's the bottom line. Musk wants to further his own interests," Livingston added.

(Production: Alexandra Sarabia)