Donald Trump's victory was, let's say, an emphatic contradiction of the legacy media's confidence that the race was “too close to call”. So, did the traditional media genuinely get it wrong? Or was it an inspired act of wishful thinking? We might never know, but that's a mystery for another day.

Today, let's talk about the man of the hour: Elon Musk. The billionaire who spent months reshaping Twitter (now X) after he bought it in 2021, was duly accused by the mainstream media of amplifying certain voices and curbing others. Nevertheless, he did indeed seem to play his part in shaping public opinion like a maestro. I couldn't help but wonder whether Trump would pause during his victory lap in Florida to give a shoutout to Musk, perhaps for handing him this sweet electoral success on a digital platter.

Often magnanimous in praise, Trump indeed gave Musk his due with loud cheers from the gathering crowd, declaring, “A star is born!” and calling him “an amazing guy”. If Trump were a Bollywood fan, he might as well have said to the Tesla boss, "Jo jeeta wahi Sikander"! For, Musk, the Great Gambler, gambled his entire empire—X, Tesla, SpaceX and other ventures—for Trump. And it has now paid off handsomely.

Podcaster Joe Rogan's millions of followers might point out that his endorsement was a game-changer. Who knows, it might have been. Roger, the world's most-followed podcaster, endorsed Trump in the campaign's final days and reached millions. He also interviewed Trump's running mate, JD Vance, and yes, Musk, too. For those who do not know, Rogan has 18 million subscribers on YouTube and 14 million on Spotify. Musk has 200 million followers on X. No traditional media has such reach. Legacy media honchos may not like this data, but it is hard to argue against the fact that Musk's massive reach and his hands-on approach to steering the Trump campaign in the right direction paid rich dividends.

As voting drew to a close, Musk decided to hit Spaces for a live chat on X. I joined in—and so did 17,000 others, staying glued to........

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