Mr Musk’s allyship with Mr Farage would seem like a natural fit, given that the Reform leader’s relationship with Mr Trump goes back much further. The pair first met in 2016, shortly after the president-elect’s first election victory, and they are thought to have remained allies since.

The suddenness with which Musk has cast aspersions on his seeming soulmate raises the question of how long Trump will want to be in cahoots with