Elon, Inc.

Over the weekend, while the world was transfixed by war in the Middle East, the Tesla Robotaxi quietly appeared on the streets of Austin, Texas. It didn’t stay quiet for long, though. As a handful of Tesla influencers filmed themselves driven through the streets of the red state’s famously blue capital, their smartphone videos caught plenty of traffic violations. In this week’s episode David Papadopoulos is joined by Max Chafkin as well as Bloomberg electric vehicles reporter Kara Carlson to break down the launch. Years in the making, and with rivals like Waymo already familiar sights in some big US cities, will Elon Musk be able to spin this as something other than a tepid attempt at catch-up? Tesla investors seem to think so: the stock jumped 8.2% on Monday. Papadopoulos and Chafkin are then joined by Bloomberg social media reporter Kurt Wagner, just back from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Wagner discusses X’s participation, or rather absence, from the all-important advertising event, and goes through how Musk’s embattled social media platform has reportedly tried to strong-arm advertisers to return by threatening lawsuits. This prompted Papadopoulos to speculate about the equivalent situation for hot dog vendors or shovel salesmen. Lastly, the crew discuss a few additional news item from the week, namely an exploding SpaceX rocket and the recent report that Musk doesn’t use a computer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week’s episode of Elon, Inc., host David and Max chat about the latest Musk-Trump drama. A detente had just emerged when we last recorded, and now it feels like it’s just a matter of time before Musk (and little X) are back in the Oval Office sparring with reporters (and playing on the floor). Will the apologies help Musk secure eased restrictions for self-driving cars and access to Star Wars 2.0 (Trump’s “golden dome” project)? And will Max and David be able to introduce MAMUWT (Musk Always Makes Up With Trump) into the lexicon alongside TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out)? What about MADRA (Musk Always Delays Robotaxi Announcements)? Meanwhile, xAI is in talks to raise $4.3 billion (on top of the $5 billion it’s been trying to raise) since the company has already spent most of the $14 billion it previously raised. Commitments on the debt sale are due Tuesday. Bloomberg’s Carmen Arroyo joins the crew to break down what it means for the future of Musk’s company.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week’s episode, host David gathers Max Chafkin and Dana Hull to go through the latest developments in the aftermath of the Elon Musk-Donald Trump explosion last week. After two (!) emergency episodes in as many days last week, things seem to have calmed down between the South Africa native and the US president—but there are still signs of friction. Will Trump ever be able to forgive the insults Musk hurled at him on social media (as in, Trump should be impeached a third time)? Can he afford not to? In the midst of all the drama, it’s easy to forget that this week will reportedly see a milestone event for Tesla: the June 12 launch of a robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. The operation will be small to start, with just 10-20 cars serving a limited area, according to the company. But the timing of the event is eyebrow raising. Not only does it come on the heels of Musk’s tweet-storm meltdown, it also happens a mere week after a Bloomberg story outlining a lethal crash involving a self-driving Tesla. The crew discuss just how long the odds are for robotaxi success. To end, Chafkin has brought a feud to the program. This week it’s Musk against his own chatbot, Grok. Why is he so disappointed with his digital companion this time? The answer includes a screen short, a left wing meme and an artificial intellgence with a surprising lack of digital critical thinking.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It didn't take long after our emergency episode yesterday for the beef between Elon and Trump to escalate. The X and Truth Social posts went flying, everyone from Steve Bannon to Kanye West weighed in, and Trump even threatened to sell the Tesla he bought a few months ago. David Papadopoulos and Max Chafkin couldn't wait to dive into the latest news of the feud, and tell us what we should be watching out for next.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Minutes after Trump accused Elon of having "Trump Derangement Syndrome" and Elon claimed "Without me, Trump would have lost the election," we are joined by Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Josh Green for a special emergency podcast to talk about whether this breakup will last. Could Elon and Trump reconcile over a less big, less beautiful tax bill? Could Elon flip parties again and join the Democrats? We game out the possibilities.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk’s highly publicized and arguably brand destructive tenure as President Donald Trump’s would-be hatchet man has supposedly drawn to a close. His foray into politics has resulted in tens of thousands of federal workers losing their jobs, the attempted shuttering or gutting of federal agencies (with grim consequences for the world’s poorest) and a growing pile of lawsuits challenging as illegal much of what he did. Add to that his failed bankrolling of a Wisconsin judicial candidate and growing global disdain for him personally, and it’s no wonder the South Africa-native would want to head back to the office. In this episode of Elon, Inc. David Papadopoulos is joined by Max Chafkin and Sarah Frier to analyze just how damaged Musk really is and what his future ambitions might be. After cavorting around Washington and Mar-a-Lago for months, he appears to be rechristening himself as a businessman (instead of Daddy Warbucks of the far-right). Recent interviews with Bloomberg, CBS and the Washington Post certainly make it seem like he wants us to believe that. But on the other hand, his latest X post on the massive Republican spending bill might mean he’s not quite ready to leave the political spotlight. The crew also go through a number of Musk news items from last week, including successful fundraising, some confusing Grok deals that might not actually happen and an explosive report from The New York Times regarding his custody battles and alleged ketamine use. Finally, the trio tries to figure out the origin of that shiner Musk sported at Friday’s press conference in the Oval Office. He blamed his five-year-old son. Although the parents on the panel find that believable, they also go through a list of other suspects.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here's an excerpt from Max Chafkin's new podcast Everybody's Business, co-hosted with Stacey Vanek Smith. From now on, if you want to hear the whole episode and all past and future episodes, head to your podcast app of choice and search for Everybody's Business. A handy collection of links can be found here.For now, enjoy this conversation with stacy-marie ishmael about President Trump's novel crypto strategy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Bloomberg’s Mishal Husain interviewed Elon Musk last week, it caused quite a stir. This was especially the case when Musk proclaimed, “in terms of political spending, I’m gonna do a lot less in the future.” (Most news reports missed a sly qualification that made this seem more like an ultimatum. But more on that below). Coverage of the supposed end of Musk’s role as Republican Party’s Sugar Daddy added fuel to the ongoing “what will Elon do now?” frenzy. Over the weekend, a substantial outage at his social media platform X may have added some clarity. In response, the serial entrepreneur announced he was going “back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms.” Or not. In this episode of Elon, Inc., Max Chafkin brings together Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull and social media reporter Kurt Wagner to discuss whether Musk means what he says about politics, subsidizing the GOP or even going back to work. Is he really leaving politics in the rearview mirror? Or were these statements calculated? Could they be a way for him to intimidate lawmakers who are expecting campaign funds while assuring investors he’s on top of his sometimes struggling companies? To round things off, they rank Musk’s most immediate plans on a scale of how likely they are to succeed in the foreseeable future. Will it be X Money? A functioning fleet of “robotaxis?” Or maybe shooting Tesla’s humanoid robot Optimus to Mars? There was some disagreement.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Check out the feed of our sister podcast Everybody's Business in any podcast app of your choice. After several week's of cross publishing, in the future you're going to have to head to that feed to enjoy the show. But for now...---All the economy is a stage this week, as the “big beautiful” tax bill passed the House in the wee hours of Thursday morning, and millions of college graduates got their diplomas and set off into the the job market, competing with an ever growing army of robot workers. In the second episode of Everybody’s Business from Bloomberg Businessweek, hosts Stacey Vanek Smith and Max Chafkin dive into the tax bill, the AI job threat, and the turning of (actual) lead into (actual) gold. The tax cut extension still has to pass the Senate, but the House version would add roughly $4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, and would be, by far, the most expensive policy the Trump administration has enacted. In spite of this, the tax bill has not gotten nearly the attention of other policies, including the Department of Government Efficiency (its cuts have not amounted to even 1% of the federal budget). But all the sound and fury signifying a rounding error is by design according to author and economic journalist Kyla Scanlon. Scanlon says you can learn a lot about the Trump Administration’s economic policies by watching Wrestlemania. Then Bloomberg reporter Sarah Frier joins to talk about AI and jobs. Fears are growing in the US workforce that jobs are being lost to artificial intelligence, and a new study estimates up to ⅓ of jobs in developed countries will be “transformed” by AI. Frier looks at what jobs might be under threat and how real the worries are. Finally, Stacey and Max talk about a major development in commodities markets. Scientists were able to turn lead into gold! Stacey thinks this could be a turning point for the gold market and all mankind. Max has doubts…after all, all that glitters is not gold.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk was interviewed Tuesday by Bloomberg’s Mishal Husain at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha. The wide-ranging conversation spanned the multibillionaire’s work on behalf of President Donald Trump and at his “Department of Government Efficiency,” protests against Tesla and a careful assertion that he might wind down his political contributions. The chat turned tense at times, with Musk becoming visibly upset while discussing demonstrators who vandalized Tesla showrooms and how “DOGE” has vastly undershot its promised savings. In this week’s Elon, Inc., David Papadopoulos and Max Chafkin dissect some notable moments from the interview. Also on the show, Max goes through the wild week of xAI’s chatbot Grok. First off, the artificial companion spent an entire day talking about “White genocide” in clearly irrelevant responses to unrelated queries. The company then managed to strike a deal with prediction betting site Kalshi and finally ended up in the cloud of arch-nemesis Microsoft. Max has a lot of explaining to do.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk was just interviewed by Bloomberg’s Mishal Husain at the Qatar Economic Forum. It was a sometimes tense exchange that covered everything from DOGE savings, via Tesla protestors, to Elon’s plans to wind down his political contributions. Today’s episode of Elon, Inc. will break down the interview and analyze highlights but for now, you can listen to the whole 40 minutes here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where’s the inflation? With this week’s Consumer Price Index coming in softer than predicted (inflation at its lowest level since 2021, according to government data), a lot of people are wondering why tariffs haven’t pushed prices up. In the debut episode of Everybody’s Business from Bloomberg Businessweek, hosts Stacey Vanek Smith and Max Chafkin tackle President Donald Trump’s trade war, inflation and when the rubber will (if ever) hit the road. Consumer spending columnist Amanda Mull takes Stacey on a tariff tour through Target, explaining why import taxes have yet to show up in inflation data and how you’re likely to see them in the future. It turns out flatscreen TVs, pineapples and mascara will all manifest tariffs in different ways. Mull concludes tariffs could very well ruin Christmas. Then sports reporter Randall WIlliams joins to talk about why private equity has started buying up sports teams. It turns out teams are becoming more valuable as games dominate live television, attracting bigger audiences (and commanding higher ad rates). That’s got private equity sneaking into the game, pumping up prices and injecting billions of dollars into teams. Randall concludes that private equity won’t ruin sports (but Max and Stacey are skeptical). Finally, for the underrated story for the week, we look at the rising trend of rising sneaker soles. Shoe brands are creating ever puffier soles even as racing authorities try to put restrictions in place. Ultramarathoner Max realizes his beloved sport is in the crosshairs of controversy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week’s episode of Elon, Inc., host Max Chafkin and Bloomberg Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull sit down with Matthew LaBrot, a former Tesla sales manager who made headlines last week following his departure from the company. LaBrot was the man behind the “Tesla Employees Against Elon” website, which consisted of an open letter from an initially anonymous LaBrot criticizing the company’s multibillionaire CEO. He suggested Tesla would be better off continuing its mission without the South Africa native, his antics and the headlines that follow in his wake. Despite recent reports of the company board also having second thoughts about Musk’s performance as CEO, the company seemingly didn’t agree, and took swift action. On the podcast, LaBrot outlines why he decided to write the letter, how he came to part ways with the company and how Tesla employees handle, or willfully ignore, “the elephant in the room.” As a former sales manager, LaBrot also spells out the internal struggles of the company as sales started plummeting in tandem with Musk’s far-right turn and association with President Donald Trump. Hull and Chafkin also go through a list of additional Musk news from the week. These include a spat with Bill Gates, some good news for the Boring company and the latest example of cross-pollination in the Musk empire: Tesla hardware powering xAI’s supercomputer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Everybody’s Business, Max and Stacey explore the future of friendship. With OpenAI and Meta ramping up efforts to give chatbots personalities and emotional intelligence, the hosts ask: could an AI ever truly be your friend? And will this lead to the downfall of humanity? Reporter Sarah Frier joins the conversation. Then, Lights, Camera... Tariffs? President Trump wants to slap massive new taxes on films shot overseas, arguing it’s a national security issue. Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw stops by to explain what this could mean for the movie industry, how real the threat is, and what this might mean for the movie industry. Finally, for the underreported story of the week, Max and Stacey attempt to untangle an international crypto story. It’s a wild tale of geopolitics, digital cash, and the ever-expanding business of influence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s no secret that Elon Musk isn’t a big fan of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. He and his companies have been the subject of a plethora of investigations and regulatory scrutiny over the years (who can forget the infamous words “funding secured”?), and there’s currently a probe of Musk’s acquisition of Twitter shares. But only recently have Musk’s minions begun to ramp up their efforts to shrink the SEC. And while the “Department of Government Efficiency” has hugely missed the mark in terms of how much Musk claimed it would cut, hobbling the SEC could have profound consequences for Musk’s fortune. On this week’s episode of Elon, Inc., host David Papadopoulos is joined by Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer Max Chafkin, Bloomberg Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull and SEC reporter Nicola White to discuss Musk’s run-ins with the agency and what we can possibly expect from DOGE’s doings. Speaking of eyebrow raising—Musk just scored a big victory in Texas when residents of the small community near SpaceX’s rocket launch site voted to officially incorporate the area as “Starbase.” Bloomberg legal reporter Madlin Mekelburg joins the gang to discuss. To end things, Chafkin has spotted a brewing feud in Musk’s world. No, it’s not the Tesla CEO vs. the Tesla board, it’s Elon Musk vs. his neighbors—and this spat has it all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the fifth (top secret) episode of Bloomberg Businessweek’s new podcast Everybody’s Business, hosts Max Chafkin and Stacey Vanek Smith look the first 104 days of the Trump administration--particularly the last 4. Businessweek editor Brad Stone joins to discuss Amazon's face-off with Trump, the GDP's downturn and the resignation of Mike Waltz. Then David Papadopoulos joins from the sidelines of the Kentucky Derby, where he explains why betting on the races is softening and why retirement is often more lucrative for horses than running (and what a retirement it is!). Finally, as the underrated story of the week, Stacey and Max discuss the rise of new media in the White House press corp, including one influencer who famously thought the moon had disappeared after she didn't see it for several days.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today marks the 100th day of the second Trump administration. It also means it’s been about 100 days since Elon Musk transformed the US Digital Service into what he and Trump contend is a government cost-cutting initiative named after Musk’s favorite crypto coin. With the Trump news cycle more intense than ever and Musk the fastest moving part of it, today’s episode of Elon, Inc. attempts to make sense of the past three-and-a-half months. What we do know is that the “Department of Government Efficiency” has only cut a fraction of the $2 trillion Musk initially promised, and that the South Africa native’s pledge of full transparency has come to nearly naught. Meanwhile, the entire effort is the subject of furious litigation over its arguably unconstitutional nature. Host David Papadopoulos gathers Max Chafkin, Dana Hull and Bloomberg technology reporter Kurt Wagner to break down Musk’s activities as his 130 days as a special government employee nears a close. What has been Musk’s biggest win? Biggest loss? What event has been the most surprising or under reported? The gang has its work cut out for them. Also, David, Dana and Max zero in on the robotaxi. Supposedly launching in Austin, Texas, in June, much of Tesla’s still-high valuation is bound up with Musk’s idea of a self-driving cab, and a lot of time was dedicated to it during last week’s Tesla earnings call. After years of promises, will the robotaxi actually see the light of day? How big of a fleet are we talking about? Will it survive an already crowded market? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the fourth (top secret) episode of Bloomberg Businessweek’s new podcast Everybody’s Business, hosts Max Chafkin and Stacey Vanek Smith grapple with the rise of the Man-o-sphere. Elon Musk is backing away from Doge, but his legacy will linger, and Max reveals the man behind Doge (hint: it’s not Elon) Then Sarah Frier joins the show to talk about the former talent agent who introduced President Trump to the Manosphere and how he politicized the space. And how one clip of President Trump talking to a podcast host about cocaine won the hearts and minds of the manosphere and put them squarely on team Trump. Finally, as the underrated story of the week, Stacey and Max discuss an AI tool invention that got a Columbia student suspended and then won him millions in venture capitalSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last year was a big year for Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain implant company, seeing as it made headlines by successfully inserting a chip into a human’s brain. Soon the world may marvel at a quadriplegic man playing chess using nothing but his mind. And while there are other companies in the field of neurotechnology, Neuralink has received outsized attention thanks to its deeply controversial founder. His ultimate ambitions are lofty—including characteristically extreme claims of products that can enable mental control of robotic limbs or substitute spoken communication all together. But brainwave-powered chess aside, as the South Africa native becomes more famous (or infamous) for his role as President Donald Trump’s government-gutting deputy than co-founder of an embattled electric car company, Neuralink has managed to endure his notoriety. In this week’s episode, David Papadopoulos catches up with Bloomberg technology editor Sarah Frier to discuss what Neuralink has been up to, how its fundraising is going and what the company’s plans are for 2025. Also, Papadopoulos talks with Musk reporter Dana Hull and Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer Max Chafkin about Tuesday’s Tesla earnings call. Coming at a tumultuous time for the company, Musk has promised it will also be a “company update.” Chafkin and Hull break down what to expect. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the third (semi-secret) episode of Bloomberg Businessweek's new podcast Everybody’s Business, Businessweek Editor Brad Stone fills in for Max Chafkin and joins Stacey Vanek Smith to talk trade war winners an losers. Though uncertainty still surrounds many of the Trump Administration's tariff policies, some trends are starting to emerge. Brad and Stacey select their winners and losers based on what we know so far. And Harvard University is making headlines this week as it pushed back against Trump Administration demands. Now the University is at risk of losing billions of dollars in federal funding as well as its tax exempt status. Reporter Janet Lorin has been following the story and explains the stakes: What does it mean for universities if they lose federal money and why is the story captivating us so much? Finally, Everybody's Business goes to space. A group of women, including entertainer Katie Perry and CBS's Gayle King, went on a short trip to space. The voyage has been heavily critiqued, but Brad argues that this is, indeed, a milestone.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s tax day in the US, and the Internal Revenue Service is reeling from more potential firings courtesy of Donald Trump, Elon Musk and their “Department of Government Efficiency” or “DOGE.” But DOGE headlines seem to have abated of late. What does it mean? Has Musk turned his gaze back to his actual businesses? Has the media’s attention span run out? Are the South Africa native’s efforts to terminate tens of thousands of government employees and shutter federal agencies—potentially in violation of federal law—continuing under the radar? Plus, what is going on with Tesla shares amid all the tariff-inspired volatility? To talk DOGE, guest host Joel Weber of Bloomberg Explains is joined by Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull and Wired senior writer Makena Kelly. Then Bloomberg stocks reporter Esha Dey joins to talk Tesla ahead of next week’s earnings report.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the second episode of Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s new podcast Everybody’s Business, Max Chafkin and Stacey Vanek Smith talk market turmoil. The stock market has been on a wild ride ever since the Trump Administration put sweeping tariffs in place, but it was trouble in the bond market that seemed to get the President’s attention and inspire the White House to hit pause on the tariffs. Tracy Alloway of the Odd Lots podcast joins to help explain. And what does a big, global company like Apple do in a protectionist world? Mark Gurman, Bloomberg’s Chief Correspondent covering consumer technology, explains why the tariff announcement has hit Apple’s stock especially hard and how much you can expect the price of your iPhone to rise. Finally, have scientists unearthed an ancient howl? Stacey is blown away while Max is (unsurprisingly) skeptical.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Donald Trump unveiled that big list of countries and their respective tariffs, the markets reacted immediately by nosediving. In the days since, business leaders, tech founders and global CEOs have been making noise about how their companies will be negatively impacted. And even though Elon Musk is now part of the Trump administration, he’s also jumped into the fray, feuding with Trump adjutant Peter Navarro on (where else?) X. This is the biggest split between Trump and Musk we’ve seen yet. To talk about these developments, Elon, Inc. regulars Dana Hull and Max Chafkin are joined by Bloomberg editor Craig Trudell and political correspondent Nancy Cook. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the first episode of Bloomberg Businessweek’s new podcast Everybody’s Business, Max Chafkin and Stacey Vanek Smith try to make sense of “Liberation Day”—Donald Trump’s recent introduction of steep tariffs on imports from seemingly every corner of the globe. Will these taxes "fix" the economy like a hammer helps a headache? Or are they a tool to change an unsustainable system of global trade? Then Businessweek editor Brad Stone joins to discuss reported recent attempts of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Oracle’s Larry Ellison to acquire TikTok. After a dramatic near-decade of politicians trying to cancel the app in the US, will an unlikely cabal of investors manage to save America’s new favorite pastime? Also, Max shares what story he thinks deserved more attentions this week. It’s all about bats. Everybody’s Business is a Businessweek production. It will live in the Elon, Inc. feed for a few weeks until it gets its own home starting May 16th.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Friday night, news broke that Elon Musk was merging his company X with his company xAI—a move that this very podcast, Elon, Inc., had predicted last year. This week, a campaign for the Wisconsin Supreme Court looms very large, as Musk is again spending millions of dollars to (Democrats contend) try and tilt an election in the Republican Party’s favor. Today, we talk about what the Friday night news means for Musk’s financial world and what the Wisconsin race means for his political future. This episode features social media reporter Kurt Wager, Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull, Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer Max Chafkin and host David Papadopoulos.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk’s leverage over the Republican Party, made plain by his threats to finance primary challenges against anyone who fails to fully support Donald Trump, comes from his multibillion-dollar bank account. Recently, he’s decided to spend some of that money on behalf of the party. In Wisconsin, Musk has spent upwards of $13 million to sway a state supreme court race that has ramifications for Republican control of the US House of Representatives. To discuss this, host David Papadopoulos is joined by Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull, Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer Max Chafkin and politics reporter Ted Mann. Then, later in the episode, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Steve Man joins to talk about his optimistic view on Tesla sales. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk has been making news at a furious pace as he seeks to dismantle wide swaths of the federal government at Donald Trump’s behest. His behavior has certainly been enough to fill the pages of Judd Legum’s new publication, Musk Watch. The newsletter, an offshoot of Legum’s Popular Information Substack, launched on Inauguration Day. Since then, he’s used his background in law, journalism and digging through public records to keep track of the South Africa native and what he and his “Department of Government Efficiency” have been doing. How does one keep track of someone like Musk? In this special episode of Elon, Inc., Bloomberg technology editor Sarah Frier sits down with Legum to talk about his work, the potential legal consequences for Musk and his minions and an alternate universe where Musk behaves in a less controversial fashion.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In some ways, Elon Musk had a quiet week—if making news on a daily instead of hourly basis counts as quiet. This week on Elon, Inc., the panel— Max Chafkin, Dana Hull and Bloomberg Businessweek columnist Amanda Mull—discusses Mull’s latest story about the wrong turns Musk has taken with the Tesla brand. And while Tesla dealerships and Supercharger stations are increasingly the focus of anti-Musk ire, the panel ponders the future of SpaceX and Starlink, especially as the latter is seeing growth among its competitors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He may be the world’s richest person and a personal pal of Donald Trump, but even Elon Musk can have a bad week. Not only has Tesla stock continued to crater as consumers worldwide turn their back on the South Africa-born multibillionaire (some violently) but his right-wing social network X was hit by sporadic outages he blamed on hackers. Even one of his SpaceX rockets blew up, raining debris down on the Earth and endangering passenger airliners. A big part of Musk’s waning popularity is of course tied to his starring role in gutting the US government on behalf of Trump—and even there he’s not as loved as he once was. On this episode to discuss all of this are Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer Max Chafkin and Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull. Later, Bloomberg stocks reporter Esha Day talks about how the markets have been treating Musk of late. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Elon Musk is busy in Washington, his publicly traded company has been suffering. Having skyrocketed in the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump’s election, Tesla is now in free fall and increasingly a target of protesters. Every weekend, more people have shown up at Tesla dealerships across the US with signs and chants, demonstrating against Musk’s effort to gut federal regulators and agencies while firing tens of thousands or workers with Trump’s blessing. Overseas, it might be even worse for the carmaker: Tesla sales have collapsed in Europe. Maybe betting on Trump boosting Musk’s companies wasn’t the smartest move for investors after all? To debate that and more, David Papadopoulos is joined by Bloomberg editor Craig Trudell as well as Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull and Bloomberg Businessweek Senior Reporter Max Chafkin. Also, after a lull, the feuds are back, and this time they’re bigger than ever.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Personnel Management (OPM) sent out an email seemingly to all federal employees instructing them to send back a list of five things they accomplished the previous week. Over on X, Musk posted that failure to do so would be tantamount to resigning. Confusion reigned as departments scrambled to advise employees on whether to follow the order from Donald Trump’s wealthiest assistant. This week, Bloomberg Businessweek’s Max Chafkin chats with Bloomberg social media reporter Kurt Wagner about this email and more. Then we hear a segment of the live show last week at On Air Fest, where host David Papadopoulos was joined by Chafkin, Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull and Wired’s Makena Kelly, who has been covering politics and Musk’s new government career for some time now. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk and his assistants have reportedly spent the past week dropping in on federal agencies ranging from the US Department of Education to the Department of Energy, the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. The result has been the potentially illegal disclosure of personal financial and health data belonging to tens of millions of Americans. Accompanying these visits has been the summary (and again potentially illegal) termination of thousands of federal workers by President Donald Trump. To walk you through these historic developments, David Papadopoulos unpacks it all with Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull. They also talk about recent protests against the multibillionaire at Tesla showrooms, a potential new round of funding for his artificial intelligence venture and the $400 million government order for armed Cybertrucks—to be paid for by American taxpayers—that disappeared from the State Department procurement website.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Federal judges continue to declare most of Elon Musk’s activities in Washington to be probably illegal as the question of whether his 78-year-old boss will trigger a constitutional crisis becomes more pressing. At the same time, Musk has been making news in Silicon Valley, with a report Monday that he and others want to buy OpenAI. The proposal may have been a feint, but Sam Altman did take the opportunity to make Musk look small. The OpenAI chief executive said no thanks to the $97.4 billion offer, but added he’d be happy to buy X off of Musk for a pittance by comparison. From Washington, reporter Josh Wingrove joins host David Papadopoulos and panelists Max Chafkin and Dana Hull. Plus, New York magazine tech writer John Herrman comes on to talk about how Musk’s businesses may be benefiting from his role as Donald Trump’s hatchet man.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk has been in Washington a few weeks now, and he and his team of Silicon Valley adjutants show no signs of stopping their efforts to (illegally, many legal experts say) dismantle portions of the federal government in the name of Donald Trump. This weekend, we discussed how the Tesla co-founder and far-right billionaire was given access to a central component of government—the mechanism by which the Treasury distributes trillions of dollars authorized by Congress. Today, Max Chafkin discusses these historic events with Bloomberg reporters Dana Hull, Ted Mann and Anthony Cormier. Cormier co-reported a story on Musk’s effort to collapse the US Agency for International Development, which distributes humanitarian and development aid all over the world. In addition to the ramifications Musk’s unprecedented actions may have for the 249-year-old republic, we also consider what this all means for his finances.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a week of unprecedented action (and chaos) from both Elon Musk and the Trump administration, breaking news this weekend brought the Elon, Inc. team together for an emergency episode. The New York Times broke the news, and the Washington Post followed, that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency was given access to the Treasury Department’s payment system. This system, which handles a big chunk of the government’s money transfers, including Social Security, is normally administered by a small number of non-political appointees, and it was reported that Musk’s desire to get in the gears drove a career Treasury official out of the department late this week. This is a big deal. Musk has many apparent conflicts of interest, and beyond the finances, this is where sensitive information about American citizens is stored. To discuss this development, host Max Chafkin is joined by Sarah Frier, Big Tech editor; Kurt Wagner, social media reporter; and Dana Hull, who covers Musk for Bloomberg News.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s that time of year: quarterly earnings for Tesla are tomorrow. Regular Elon, Inc. listeners will know that means a new bingo card is here (and you can play on the Bloomberg Terminal at BNGO). But that’s only one of the many breaking news items about Elon Musk—another is today’s announcement that Visa is partnering with X to deliver banking services to the social media platform. To discuss all of this, host David Papadopoulos is joined by Max Chafkin, Dana Hull and editor Craig Trudell to talk Tesla, and senior banking reporter Sridhar Natarajan to unpack X’s new debt deal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just as mobile banking revolutionized our relationship with our money and led to a plethora of new tools for management and investing, the proliferation of crypto and blockchain technologies have opened up all manner of new investment opportunities that go far beyond what early Bitcoin adopters could’ve imagined. This episode is sponsored by Coinbase.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tariffs, crypto, deregulation, tax cuts, protectionism, are just some of the things back on the table when Donald Trump returns to the Presidency. To help you plan for Trump's singular approach to economics, Bloomberg presents Trumponomics, a weekly podcast focused on the Trump administration's economic policies and plans. Editorial head of government and economics Stephanie Flanders will be joined each week by reporters in Washington D.C. and Wall Street to examine how Trump's policies are shaping the global economy and what on earth is going to happen next.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All eyes were on Washington, DC, this past weekend, when Elon Musk joined Donald Trump’s inauguration events bigly, as our once and current president would say. The news was flowing throughout, including changes to the nascent DOGE project and a very controversial hand gesture. Also controversial? Musk’s ongoing video game scandal, in which influential gamers have accused Musk of not actually getting to the upper echelon of a few games by himself. To discuss DC, host David Papadopoulos is joined by series regulars Max Chafkin and Dana Hull, and Bloomberg video game reporter Cecilia D’Anastasio later joins to talk about her new story on the affair.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Monday, Bloomberg News broke the story that Chinese officials were considering allowing Elon Musk to buy TikTok—something that, if it happened, would be earth-shaking for a whole host of reasons (though Elon, Inc. listeners heard us discuss the possibility months ago). Host Max Chafkin talks to Bloomberg social media reporter Kurt Wagner about what a Musk-owned TikTok could mean for the US (and China). Then Bloomberg political writer Joshua Green joins Chafkin and Musk reporter Dana Hull to unpack the ongoing MAGA feud between two of America’s most famous far-right figures: Musk and Steve Bannon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For those who haven’t been following Elon Musk’s voluminous and combative X posts about the UK—good for you. It’s a confusing situation where Musk backed and then renounced fellow right-winger Nigel Farage, and then tried to taint Prime Minister Keir Starmer with a “scandal” tied to when he was a prosecutor. Starmer, for his part, said “a line has been crossed” with Musk’s messaging. Musk then made an X poll asking people, essentially, if it was time for a coup in the UK. David discusses this with Bloomberg Opinion columnist Marc Champion, Musk reporter Dana Hull and UK government reporter Alex Wickham. Then, Kurt Wagner and Max Chafkin join Hull to talk about changes at X. Musk seems to have changed the platform’s policy to privilege posts that are “positive” in nature. The timing of this has the panel wondering if he plans on boosting people who are saying nice things about, say, how his new boss is doing come Jan. 20. Finally, “Adrian Dittman.” It’s been a longstanding rumor that this person is actually Musk—his voice sounds like Musk’s in various recordings and he posts often about Musk in glowing terms. A recent story seemed to debunk that rumor, but the internet doesn’t seem ready to let go.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the holiday break, Elon Musk was busy making news on X, furiously posting his way into a multipronged fight with ultra-right wing MAGA luminaries Laura Loomer and Steve Bannon about immigration visas. But over the past 24 hours, two other stories arguably overshadowed the civil war in Trumpland: a deadly Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas and some surprisingly bad sales numbers from Tesla. David Papadopoulos is joined by Max Chafkin and Dana Hull to break down the news. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.