Your ultimate authority for daily Elon Musk news.
Exploring the world's biggest ideas with your host Will
Walden. There's something new everyday.
The President of the United States has just threatened a
private citizen. Donald Trump told Elon Musk to
expect very serious consequences if he funds political candidates
that Trump poses now. This threat didn't come through
a leak or some sort of back channel message.
That came directly. From the president himself
during a phone interview with NBCS Kristen Welker Now.
That message followed a series of public jabs between the two
men, revealing a larger question.
What happens when the president? Donald Trump.
Threatens to retaliate against a private citizen for political
donations. Trump's threat wasn't vague,
though. In a Thursday post, he suggested
cutting off federal contracts and subsidies to Musk's
companies as a budget saving measure.
That post followed Musk's public criticism of the GOP's latest
budget legislation and his call to vote out incumbents in 2026.
Elon also followed the idea of launching a new political party
to represent the 80% in the middle.
Trump responded within days, warning that if Musk backs
Democratic candidates in the midterms, he'll suffer
unspecified consequences now. The president didn't explain
what those would be, but insisted they'd be very serious
now. Musk donated at least
$288,000,000 to support Trump and other Republicans during the
2024 election cycle, according to campaign finance reports that
some made him the most influential financial backer in
GOP circles last year. Now his abrupt threat to
redirect support away from the party or possibly fund third
party or Democratic candidates has triggered Donald Trump's
escalated warnings. Now, the message that Donald
Trump is sending is that loyalty is transactional, and switching
sides comes with penalties. Trump's tactics have created
unease even among some of his political allies.
Federal subsidies have played a major role in sustaining Musk's
companies. SpaceX receives billions through
NASA contracts, and Tesla benefits from energy credits and
tax incentives tied to its EVs. Now, cutting those off would
have tangible effects on operations, investors and jobs.
The threat was targeted directly to Elon Musk and his finances
and his businesses. In a private discussions with
donors, Trump has emphasized his preference for transactional
politics. Sources familiar with the
situation say that Trump views financial loyalty as a
cornerstone of his political machine.
That makes Musk's dissent unusually dangerous.
In Trump's view, Musk, who once boasted of being a free speech
absolutist, has found herself caught between asserting
political independence and preserving access to government
resources for him and also his companies.
Now, the dynamic matters to everybody.
Beyond personal grudges. Tech, CE, OS and federal
officials are always navigating a new era of policy influence.
Right now, where access and funding increasingly depend on
personal relationships rather than traditional lobbying or
merit, It looks like handshake deals are.
Happening. Throughout Trump's
administration, Musk had enjoyed a period of influence under
Trump, including friendly meetings and favorable public
comments staying at Trump's estates.
Now that influence is completely gone.
It's evaporated. Other tech leaders see this as
an opportunity to fill the void, though.
Executives of companies like Palantir and Andrill, both
heavily defence focused, see a pathway to gain favor with the
administration. Industry sources say these firms
are already increasing the federal lobbying efforts, giving
more and more money and positioning themselves as
alternative to Elon Musk. Now.
Mehta's leadership has also shifted its political tone,
aligning more closely with Trump's rhetoric in recent
months. Musk's misstep could create room
for new favourites of Trump to emerge now.
Musk's standing at Silicon Valley had already begun to
erode due to his erratic public statements and inconsistent
business focuses recently. And while respected for
engineering successes and managing Tesla and SpaceX, he's
frustrated partners and investors with unpredictable
behaviour and unkept promises. And losing Trump's favor could
further isolate him, especially if his corporate empire becomes
the target of scrutiny for Trump's administration.
One consequence of this view is a potential change in US space
policy. SpaceX currently dominates
government satellite launches and space logistics, and federal
agencies begin to shift contracts toward Blue Origin.
Whose Jeff Bezos his space venture could benefit
handsomely. Sources familiar with NASA's
current contract review process say the agency exploring ways to
diversify launch providers and lighted political risk
associated with single vendor dependency, such as SpaceX.
Now open AI, who of course Elon has been warring with for a
while. Sam Altman stands to benefit
from the political fallout as well.
Although Altman has his own ongoing feud with Elon Musk,
he's navigated the post election power structure with more
discretion. He repurposed a large scale data
center initiative as a federal infrastructure project and
secured a White House photo op shortly after Trump's
inauguration. His strategy earned him
credibility inside the administration without
attracting Musk style controversy.
Now, the silence from other tech leaders speaks volumes.
Here, most prefer to avoid choosing sides in the political
feud that could affect federal contracts and our trust actions
or export licenses. Many executives are quietly
hopeful that Musk's departure from Trump's inner circle will
ease policy negotiations and create a more predictable
business environment for their companies.
Now, the administration's treatment of Musk reveals how
Trump views power and loyalty, sees wealth and influence as
useful tools when they serve his political goals, and his
liabilities when they don't serve him anymore.
Musk helped fuel the Republican campaign in 2024, but in 2026,
that might not be enough to shield him from Donald Trump's
retribution. Trump's message is very blunt.
You can fund the opposition, but it will cost you.
Hey, thank you so much for listening today.
I really do appreciate your support.
If you could take a second and hit the subscribe or the follow
button on whatever podcast platform that you're listening
on right now, I greatly appreciate it.
It helps out the show tremendously and you'll never
miss an episode. And each episode.
Is about 10 minutes or less to get you caught up quickly.
And please, if you want to support the show even more, go
to atreoncom stage. 0. And please take care of
yourselves and each other, and I'll see you tomorrow.