Elon Musk - the world's "greatest" spiv?

[jon0844]

Imagine if he created a method of allowing companies and certain individuals to be verified so they could have some sort of icon to show that you were actually talking to the right/real person or company?

 

[brad465]

Get the popcorn out:

Elon Musk labels Trump adviser Navarro 'moron' over Tesla comment

Peter Navarro had described Musk's electric car company as a "car assembler" rather than manufacturer.

www.bbc.co.uk

Elon Musk has called President Donald Trump's trade adviser, Peter Navarro, a "moron" over comments he made about his electric vehicle firm, Tesla.
Musk - who is also a member of the Trump administration - also said Navarro was "dumber than a sack of bricks" in posts on his social media platform X.
It was in response to an interview Navarro gave in which he described Tesla as a "car assembler", rather than a manufacturer, because of its use of foreign-made parts.
Navarro was being interviewed about Trump's tariff policy and said he wanted to see such parts made in the US in the future instead.
Musk said the claims were "demonstrably false."
The BBC has asked the White House for comment.
Trump has in part justified his global wave of tariffs by saying he wants to revive manufacturing in the US.
This is an argument Navarro was expanding on during an appearance on CNBC on Monday.
"If you look at our auto industry, right, we're in assembly line for German engines and transmissions right now", he said.
"We're going to get to a place where America makes stuff again, real wages are going to be up, profits are going to be up".

 

[Cloud Strife]

Get the popcorn out:

I'm just waiting for the inevitable high profile feud between Musk and Trump. It will happen, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's because Tesla falls into serious problems and Trump can't and won't do anything about it.

 

[Gloster]

I was reading somewhere that Novarra is supposedly responsible for getting Trump set on tariffs. He wrote a book some years on China that was very critical of the country; Jared Kushner (Trump’s son in law) brought it to Trump’s attention and this seems to have started the train of ‘thought’ in Trump. Among the peculiar accusations in the book were some by reputable source Ron Vara, which just happens to be an anagram of Novarra. So he has a history of fluid truth.

 

[Egg Centric]

I was reading somewhere that Novarra is supposedly responsible for getting Trump set on tariffs. He wrote a book some years on China that was very critical of the country; Jared Kushner (Trump’s son in law) brought it to Trump’s attention and this seems to have started the train of ‘thought’ in Trump. Among the peculiar accusations in the book were some by reputable source Ron Vara, which just happens to be an anagram of Novarra. So he has a history of fluid truth.

Not so sure about that, Trump has been into tarriffs since the 1980s

 

[sor]

As was widely expected, Tesla's financials have taken a huge dive. Of course this is being spun into the idea that it plummeted because he was distracted with other things, rather than the brand becoming toxic *because* of him, alongside the increased competition from both the Western brands and from China. I'm sure the colossal amount of money being spent on a useless "pickup truck" that doesn't comply with global safety standards also didn't help.

Elon Musk to step back from Doge as Tesla profits plunge

The tech boss says he intends to spend only one to two days a week on Trump administration matters.

www.bbc.co.uk

On Tuesday, the firm reported a 20% drop in automotive revenue in the first quarter of 2025, compared with the same period last year, while profits fell more than 70%.

Tesla brought in $19.3bn (£14.5bn) in total revenue in the quarter, down 9% year on year, according to the new numbers. That was less than the $21.1bn expected by analysts, and came as the company cut prices in a bid to woo buyers.

Additional spin on the "Special Government Employee" role too - he can't be in post for more than 130 days per year, and would face a lot more scrutiny of his affairs if he were to be appointed to a normal position. So it's time to pretend that he was always going to step back:

Musk said his "time allocation to Doge" would "drop significantly" starting next month. He would, he said, spend only one to two days per week on government matters "as long as the president would like me to do so and as long as it's useful".

 

[brad465]

Translation - Tesla have been contacting headhunters:

Tesla denies contacting headhunters to replace Elon Musk

The electric car firm says a report that it is hunting for a successor is "absolutely false".

www.bbc.co.uk

Tesla has denied reports that it has contacted recruitment firms to launch a search for a replacement for Elon Musk as chief executive.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the electric car firm's board began looking for a successor to Mr Musk last month.
It said this was because of frustration around Mr Musk's focus on his job in US President Donald Trump's administration and Tesla's sinking share price.
However, in statement on Thursday, Tesla said the report was "absolutely false" while Mr Musk wrote on his social media platform X that the paper was "a discredit to journalism".
Tesla chair Robyn Denholm wrote on X, external: "There was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company."
"This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published)."
She added: "The CEO of Tesla is Elon Musk and the board is highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead."

 

[jon0844]

Another Led by Donkeys classic. This time a 98 year old WW2 veteran drives a tank over a Tesla to demonstrate fighting fascism, again.

 

[brad465]

Get the popcorn out (again):

Elon Musk 'disappointed' by Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful' tax bill

As the former Doge chief, Musk had worked to reduce government spending which he says this bill contradicts.

www.bbc.co.uk

Elon Musk has criticised one of the signature policies of Donald Trump, marking a break from the US president who he helped to win re-election in 2024.
Last week, the US House of Representatives narrowly passed what Trump calls his "big, beautiful" bill, which includes multi-trillion dollar tax breaks and a pledge to increase defence spending. It will now head to the Senate.
Tech titan Musk told the BBC's US partner CBS News he was "disappointed" by the plan, which he felt "undermines" the work he did for the president on reducing spending.
Musk was enlisted as Trump's cost-cutting tsar - ending funds for US foreign aid among other projects - before announcing he would step back.

"I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly," Musk said in the interview with CBS Sunday Morning, a clip of which was released by the broadcaster before transmission.
He went on to argue that Trump's plan "increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it".
It is thought that the legislation could increase the deficit - or the difference between what the US government spends and the revenue that it receives - by about $600bn (£444bn) in the next fiscal year.
Furthermore, the bill "undermines the work that the Doge team is doing", Musk said, using the acronym of the cost-cutting advisory body the Department of Government Efficiency.
Referring to Trump's moniker for the legislation, Musk told CBS: "I think a bill can be big or beautiful. I don't know if it can be both."

Musk's intervention highlights the ongoing tension within Trump's Republican Party over the tax and spend plans, which faced an uneasy passage through the House due to opposition from different wings of the party.
Long a policy priority of Trump's, the legislation pledges to extend soon-to-expire tax cuts passed during his first administration in 2017, as well as provide an influx of money for defence spending and to fund the president's mass deportations.
The bill also proposes increasing to $4tn the debt ceiling - meaning the limit on the amount of money the government can borrow to pay its bills.
Musk's comments on the issue imply a growing distance from Trump, who he helped to propel back to the White House last year with donations of more than $250m.
They come after the billionaire recently pledged to step back from Doge. Musk had stated that he wanted to help the government cut $1tn in spending by cancelling contracts and reducing the government workforce.
As of April, Doge's website claims around $175bn has already been saved, but a BBC analysis of this figure shows it lacks some evidence.
Musk also said last week that he planned to do "a lot less" political spending in the future, and that he was committed to leading electric car company Tesla for another five years.
Tesla faced protests, boycotts and a drop in sales over Musk's work as the Doge chief, including his controversial efforts to lay off thousands of federal workers and curb foreign aid.
Musk defended his actions in his comments last week, saying: "I did what needed to be done." He and Trump previously justified the cuts as a matter of weeding out what they saw as fraud and abuse within federal spending.

 

[Peter C]

Get the popcorn out (again):

Elon Musk 'disappointed' by Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful' tax bill

As the former Doge chief, Musk had worked to reduce government spending which he says this bill contradicts.

www.bbc.co.uk

And for those of you at home with your corporate-speak bingo cards, you can check-off 'offboarding':

Elon Musk bids farewell to White House but says Doge will continue

Musk's exit comes after he criticised the legislative centrepiece of the president's agenda.

www.bbc.co.uk

Elon Musk has said he is leaving the Trump administration after helping lead a tumultuous drive to shrink the size of US government that saw thousands of federal jobs axed.
In a post on his social media platform X, the world's richest man thanked Trump for the opportunity to help run the Department of Government Efficiency, known as Doge.
The White House began "offboarding" Musk as a special government employee on Wednesday night, the BBC understands.
His role was temporary and his exit is not unexpected, but it comes a day after Musk criticised the legislative centrepiece of Trump's agenda.
"As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," Musk wrote on X.
"The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."
The South African-born tech tycoon had been designated as a "special government employee" - allowing him to work a federal job for 130 days each year.

• What is Doge and why is Musk leaving?
• How much has Elon Musk's Doge cut?

Measured from Trump's inauguration on 20 January, he would hit that limit towards the end of May.
But his departure comes a day after he said he was "disappointed" with Trump's budget bill, which proposes multi-trillion dollar tax breaks and a boost to defence spending.

-Peter

 

[DerekC]

I wonder if Musk (who isn't stupid, whatever you think of him) is realising that DOGE is not going to achieve anything other than turmoil. They are claiming $175Bn savings compared with the $2Trn original target. Of the claimed savings, according to the BBC, (see below) only about a third is documented. Even that sounds a lot, but it's less than 1% of US government annual spend. The truth will come out eventually.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c23vkd57471o

However, BBC analysis on 23 April found that only $61.5bn of that amount was itemised, and evidence of how the savings were achieved was available for just $32.5bn.

 

[Cloud Strife]

I wonder if Musk (who isn't stupid, whatever you think of him) is realising that DOGE is not going to achieve anything other than turmoil.

I think Musk thought (like many, many others) that he could do public politics like private business, and he simply doesn't understand just how difficult it is to enact meaningful change in the public sector. Many of the government departments have their own specific ways of doing things, and it takes a tremendous amount of effort to change that.

He probably went charging into things like the IRS, demanded huge savings and cutting everything in sight, and was simply ignored by everyone in the process.

 

[takno]

I think Musk thought (like many, many others) that he could do public politics like private business, and he simply doesn't understand just how difficult it is to enact meaningful change in the public sector. Many of the government departments have their own specific ways of doing things, and it takes a tremendous amount of effort to change that.

He probably went charging into things like the IRS, demanded huge savings and cutting everything in sight, and was simply ignored by everyone in the process.

It's not fair to say they just ignored him. Some of them went to the trouble of getting a judge to tell him to do one.

 

[jon0844]

I wonder if Musk (who isn't stupid, whatever you think of him) is realising that DOGE is not going to achieve anything other than turmoil. They are claiming $175Bn savings compared with the $2Trn original target. Of the claimed savings, according to the BBC, (see below) only about a third is documented. Even that sounds a lot, but it's less than 1% of US government annual spend. The truth will come out eventually.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c23vkd57471o

What about the cost of the court cases, the need to re-hire staff, pay compensation and legal fees? Chances are DOGE has saved nothing overall.

They all talked about waste and fraud, but how many people have been charged with fraud? You'd think this regime Government would be all over the chance to take people to court and jail them. One might conclude there was no fraud.

 

[WelshBluebird]

I think Musk thought (like many, many others) that he could do public politics like private business, and he simply doesn't understand just how difficult it is to enact meaningful change in the public sector. Many of the government departments have their own specific ways of doing things, and it takes a tremendous amount of effort to change that.

He probably went charging into things like the IRS, demanded huge savings and cutting everything in sight, and was simply ignored by everyone in the process.

I don't think its so much he was ignored. The fact is that despite the right wing belief, there isn't actually a huge amount of government spending you can actually cut without taking the axe to large programmes that would require governments to make huge and unpopular changes - literally axing pensions or benefits, that kind of change. Everything else is just tinkering around the edges.

(to avoid being misunderstood I absolutely do not support axing those things, just that is the scale of change needed to actually meaningfully reduce spending)

 

[nw1]

I'm trying to work out Musk.

By one measure he's just a small-state, low-tax, low-public-spending economic conservative.

I remember him being actually supportive of easier migration of skilled people between Europe and North America (both ways), which is actually the one sensible thing Musk has said in recent months and goes against the MAGA anti-migrant nonsense.

Having said that, why, then, does he get involved with far-right organisations like the AfD?

Is is simply because AfD is, of all the German parties, the most supporting of low-tax/low-spending or does he actually go along with all the far-right stuff? I'm not entirely sure to be honest.

 

[SuspectUsual]

I think Musk's single most prominent traits are the desire for attention and gratification

 

[Cloud Strife]

I'm trying to work out Musk.

I think he genuinely believed that he could be the power behind the throne, and he had no idea just how difficult the government bureaucracy could be. As mentioned above, there's not that much spending you can actually cut without backlash, and Musk is a massive liability for the Republicans.

As for the AfD and the like - for me, he's just an apartheid baby, nothing more.

 

[styles]

I'm trying to work out Musk.

By one measure he's just a small-state, low-tax, low-public-spending economic conservative.

I remember him being actually supportive of easier migration of skilled people between Europe and North America (both ways), which is actually the one sensible thing Musk has said in recent months and goes against the MAGA anti-migrant nonsense.

Having said that, why, then, does he get involved with far-right organisations like the AfD?

Is is simply because AfD is, of all the German parties, the most supporting of low-tax/low-spending or does he actually go along with all the far-right stuff? I'm not entirely sure to be honest.

In all honesty I suspect that with the amount of time he spends on social media, he's been sucked in by his own algorithms. At some point he'll have liked some Tweets or watched some videos about Trump or migration or Republicans or whatever, and then he's been fed and ever-increasing amount of related content.

The New York Times is reporting yesterday that insiders say he's been taking ketamine daily (prescription doses for his uses are typically once a week or more usually once a fortnight), as well as ecstasy and shrooms. If true, that sort of concoction of drugs would eventually make anybody behave unpredictably.

 

[jon0844]

Elon might find life interesting if he's done more than just give Stephen Miller's wife a new job (possibly at Space X going by an image on social media). There are wild rumours and speculation of Elon getting quite close...

Let's see how that plays out. I have to admit I was surprised Stephen had a wife, let alone one that wasn't more Aryan in appearance....

edit: Now there are photos circulating showing Elon with a nasty black eye. The plot thickens*.

* Could be totally unrelated, obviously. Maybe one of his many kids accidentally hit him.

 

[Gloster]

Elon might find life interesting if he's done more than just give Stephen Miller's wife a new job (possibly at Space X going by an image on social media). There are wild rumours and speculation of Elon getting quite close...

Let's see how that plays out. I have to admit I was surprised Stephen had a wife, let alone one that wasn't more Aryan in appearance....

edit: Now there are photos circulating showing Elon with a nasty black eye. The plot thickens*.

* Could be totally unrelated, obviously. Maybe one of his many kids accidentally hit him.

If it did, then there’s hope for the kid yet.

 

[Yew]

The New York Times is reporting yesterday that insiders say he's been taking ketamine daily (prescription doses for his uses are typically once a week or more usually once a fortnight), as well as ecstasy and shrooms. If true, that sort of concoction of drugs would eventually make anybody behave unpredictably.

In the UK, someone with access to that level of government information would be required to undergo Developed vetting, which includes drugs tests, does the US have any similar such processes?

 

[styles]

In the UK, someone with access to that level of government information would be required to undergo Developed vetting, which includes drugs tests, does the US have any similar such processes?

Not necessarily! If you're an MP, you don't need the regular DV/eDV process to gain widespread access to UK top secret information, nor random drugs and alcohol tests.

If Musk ran for Congress (I wouldn't rule it out..), I assume he would be subject to similar sorts of exemptions from whatever US security clearance processes are in place.

As a staff member in his current/last role though, yeah, for sure, he wouldn't be given DV/eDV, nor SC/eSC.

That said, in the UK there have been cases of dubious pass issuing, like Lord Alli's alleged No 10 pass. While people shouldn't be discussing secret/top secret information loosely, I can imagine if you spent enough time walking around No 10 you'd become party to some classified information you probably shouldn't have. So the question would really come down to how whether UKSV in the Cabinet Office would stan up to the pressure of the UK Prime Minister wanting that specific Chief of Staff. UKSV would undoubtedly advise against it, but ultimately could the PM put their foot down and insist?

 

[jon0844]

...I can imagine if you spent enough time walking around No 10 you'd become party to some classified information you probably shouldn't have...

That's old school. These days you just join their WhatsApp/Signal/Telegram/Messenger group...

(While we had the Signal thing recently in the USA, weren't the Tories using WhatsApp with messages set to auto delete during Covid?).

 

[brad465]

This breakup is even more spectacular than anyone could ever have imagined:

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1930703865801810022

Time to drop the really big bomb:@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!

 

[Darandio]

This breakup is even more spectacular than anyone could ever have imagined:

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1930703865801810022

The BBC are running a live page but have neglected to add that one in. Everything else so far has been a great read though, as you say spectacular.

 

[YorkshireBear]

The BBC are running a live page but have neglected to add that one in. Everything else so far has been a great read though, as you say spectacular.

The only thing I didn't predict was that it would take this long to happen. Good spectator sport.

 

[DelW]

The only thing I didn't predict was that it would take this long to happen. Good spectator sport.

Two of the nastiest people in the world tearing chunks out of each other in public, what's not to like?

If Putin and Xi Jinping would follow suit, it might be even better (or it might precipitate WW3, so maybe I should be careful what I wish for!).

 

[SuspectUsual]

I wonder whether Musk is about to get arrested for some Trump-ed up drugs charge?

 

[styles]

This breakup is even more spectacular than anyone could ever have imagined:

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1930703865801810022

Musk's own AI disputes this:

https://x.com/grok/status/1930706951463453037