If you’re not a politics nor tech watcher, you may have missed the war of words between President Trump and Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company, uh, and other companies. CNN/Politics provides a running report here.
Tesla stock soared in the months after the presidential election because investors were convinced Donald Trump was about to do massive favors for his largest financial backer, CEO Elon Musk. But Trump can also do great damage to Musk’s many business interests.
The risk of that damage is one reason Tesla shares tumbled 14% in trading following their public spat yesterday.
But it’s not just Tesla that could be at risk. SpaceX depends on government contracts for a significant share of its revenue. And Musk’s companies all face government regulation.
My reaction, though, is Really?
I could interpret this clash as the collision of two titanic egos, or as an example of Mr. Musk’s political inexperience and naivete, as he objects to the Big, Beautiful Bill that has already passed the House sans full review, as a bloated disaster.
Or is this, and I use this word in respect to President Trump’s former career as a TV actor, a scripted event, designed to distract the chattering classes from something of far more importance? It would certainly fit right into Mr. Trump’s conman approach to life, using one hand to distract his audience, while stealing their wallets with the other.
If this feud suddenly disappears, we’ll know it’s the conman approach.
