Hey everyone, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
I'm thrilled to share some exciting news with you Over the
next two weeks, we're evolving. We'll be broadening our focus to
cover all the tech Titans shaping our world.
You'll still get the latest insights on Elon Musk, plus so
much more. So stay tuned for our official
relaunch coming soon. Now let's get into this episode.
So Elon Musk is stepping away from his official role inside
the Trump administration, but not from political influence
altogether. With his tenure at the
Department of Government Efficiency winding down, Elon
Musk plans to use his wealth and his Platform X to shape the 2026
midterm elections. Instead of working inside the
government, he aims to fund Republican candidates and drive
national conversations from the outside.
Now, Musk's official exit is timed to the 130 day legal limit
on special government employees, but people close to him say it's
also personal. They describe Musk as exhausted
from constant attacks on his companies and ready to protect
his brand by spending less time in Washington.
Instead of being a lightning rod inside the government, Musk
intends to become a financial powerhouse outside of it.
During his year at Doge, Musk pursued the budget cuts, gaining
A reputation for showmanship and disruption.
He famously waved a chainsaw at a conservative conference,
pledging to hack away at bureaucracy and, if official
claims, credit DOGE with $160 billion in taxpayer savings.
But many independent reviewers point out errors, double counts
and inflated figures now. Musk's aggressive tactics
eventually wore thin inside the administration.
Cabinet secretaries who initially supported him became
more resistant, and by March, Trump reminded agency heads that
they had final authority over personal decisions, subtly
limiting Musk's reach without ending his influence.
Frustrations also spilled into public fights.
Musk clashed with Secretary of State Marco Rubio,
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Treasury Secretary
Scott Basent. He called Trump's trade advisor
Peter Navarro a moron in private meetings.
Despite tensions, though, Musk remained a favorite of Trump,
who admired his willingness to take bold tasks and make them
easy. Now outside the White House,
Musk's political activities hurt Tesla's reputation.
His embrace of far right politics fueled protests,
boycotts of vandalism of Tesla dealerships, and a recent poll
found Musk's unfavorable rating had to climb to 58% compared to
the mid 30s just about two years ago.
In an effort to counteract the damage, Musk sought Trump's
public support, and after a weekend meeting at Mar a Lago,
Trump showcased a red Tesla Model S on the White House lawn,
calling it a symbol of American innovation.
Conservative media figures quickly echoed the message, but
controversy continued a trailing on Musk.
He also made a risky political bet in Wisconsin's high profile
Supreme Court election. He and allied groups spent
around $21 million can Conservative candidate Brad
Schimmel and liberal candidate Susan Crawford won by 10 points,
exposing how Musk's high profile involvement sometimes mobilizes
opponents more than the supporters now.
Since the Wisconsin defeat, though, Musk has retreated from
political showmanship. He now posts more about
technology and space than about politics.
At the same time, his allies remain embedded inside the
government, continuing the cost cutting initiatives Musk started
with DOGE. Now, despite failing to hit the
trillion dollar savings goals, Musk's imprint on Washington is
clear. He forced agencies to rethink
spending at personnel, even if the long term results remain
uncertain. This methods created strain
inside major agencies, including the Social Security
Administration and Veteran Affairs.
And he put people out of work, hardworking Americans that need
that money to survive. He fired them with no recourse.
A lot of them are taking him and the federal government to task
on this and their lawsuits that are piling up now.
He rushed cuts and it caused real service disruptions and
these people are going to fight back now.
Musk's next chapter will not play out behind a government
desk, though. Instead, he'll use his money and
media empire to try to reshape American politics once again,
but from the outside, believing that dollars and influence can
move the country faster than federal job titles ever could.
So remember, people, vote for the person that you like.
Do not vote for the drama. A Musk is stepping out of the
White House, but he's stepping even deeper now into the
political arena. Hey, thank you so much for
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