Meet Elon Musk's right-hand man with 2-decade influence

When Musk claimed last month that the U.S. government was engaged in an "utterly insane" activity of distributing US$100 billion to people without Social Security numbers, one man moved quickly.

Two days later Davis began pressuring the Social Security Administration.

He personally contacted agency leaders, demanding that a young engineer from Musk’s newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) be granted access to sensitive federal databases. The goal, Davis said, was to investigate "the general myth" of widespread Social Security fraud.

The request was described as "unprecedented" by former SSA official Tiffany Flick in a lawsuit filed by federal employees seeking to block DOGE’s access.

It was just one example of how Davis, 45, has become the quiet executor of Musk’s most disruptive plans, not only in Silicon Valley, but now in Washington.

Steve Davis and Elon Musk in an event together. Photo from X

As the de facto leader of DOGE, Davis has directed engineers and lawyers to identify up to US$2 trillion in federal budget cuts, pushed resignation emails to civil servants, and flagged diversity programs for elimination.

Two officials told The New York Times that Davis holds more power than acting DOGE administrator Amy Gleason, who has at times been left out of his decisions entirely. Two former co-workers described Davis as the ideal staffer for Musk, someone willing to take on any task, even without expertise.

"Steve is like chemo," Musk said during a transition meeting. "A little chemo can save your life; a lot of chemo could kill you."

Davis has served as Musk’s enforcer for more than two decades. Their partnership began in 2003, when Musk recruited Davis from Stanford’s graduate aerospace program to join SpaceX as its 14th employee. Davis quickly earned Musk’s trust by building a rocket part originally quoted at $120,000 for just $3,900.

At SpaceX, Davis’s devotion to cutting costs became a defining trait. In 2007 he removed internal components from the Falcon 1 rocket to reduce expenses, which caused the rocket to lose balance and fail during a test flight.

Despite the setback, Musk valued Davis’s relentless drive. Over the years he followed Musk through major ventures, from building tunnels at The Boring Company to leading layoffs at Twitter, now known as X.

"One thing he has proven through all of his endeavors is he can do a lot more with a lot less," a former Boring Company employee told Fortune magazine.

Twenty two friends, former colleagues and government officials said that Davis fully believes Musk will advance humanity’s progress.

Steve Davis, Elon Musk's right-hand man in Los Angeles, July 2019. Photo by AFP

Davis’s loyalty extends beyond business.

After Musk acquired Twitter, Davis reportedly slept at the company’s San Francisco headquarters alongside his partner, Nicole Hollander, and their newborn. Hollander, now working at the General Services Administration to help cut federal real estate costs, shares an office with Davis on the sixth floor of the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

To former friend Adam Green, who knew Davis a decade ago, the transformation has been dramatic.

"He was a fun, outside-the-box thinker," Green told Rolling Stone magazine, "but now he is a blind servant to Musk.

"For Steve Davis ... life has always been a game. A puzzle to be solved regardless of a larger vision or set of values. [He] would shun political talk, saying, ‘I know nothing about politics.’"

That unwavering loyalty has led to friction within the Trump administration. Davis has attempted to place DOGE recruits at the Pentagon, bypassed standard procedures, and rebuked officials when internal emails leaked, accusing them of embarrassing Musk.

Despite his growing influence, Davis has largely avoided public attention with neither Elon Musk nor the White House mentioning him. But that doesn’t mean he is entirely out of view. Last month, he spoke with lawmakers who work with DOGE.

"Wrapped a great meeting with @elonmusk and Steve Davis on their goals for the @DOGE," Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., posted on X, according to the Independent. The message included a photo of Davis holding a microphone and smiling beside Musk - off his right hand.