Political Writer surveys the territory.
Oct 11, 2024
I was wrong about the absence of Elon Musk’s near disappearance from corporate media, his appearance in Le Monde proves that ‘The Billionaire’ is always worthy of investigation. Think of the ‘strike-breaker’ Andrew Carnegie, or the Lawyered up Jeff Bezos!
Headline: Musk’s all-out crusade, from buying Twitter to actively supporting Trump
Sub-headline: In the space of a few months, the multi-billionaire seems to have partly tied his fate, and the future of his companies such as Tesla, to the outcome of the US presidential election.
By Damien Leloup and Alexandre Piquard
Published yesterday at 8:00 pm (Paris)
Editor: The first paragraphs of the Damien Leloup and Alexandre Piquard report:
“If Trump loses, I’m fucked.” With his usual blend of provocation, paranoia and candor, this is how Elon Musk summed up his situation just a few weeks before the US presidential election. In an interview with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson broadcast on Monday, October 7, his phrase illustrates the new state of affairs. Since it was bought by the billionaire in October 2022, the social media network Twitter has changed a great deal, right down to its name – now X. The multi-billionaire himself has also completed a major, highly politicized transformation: Since July, he openly supports Donald Trump.
Musk’s account on X has become one of the campaign’s main mouthpieces. It’s where he delivers a daily dose of ultraconservative language and insults to Kamala Harris, who he regularly describes as an extremist or communist. Day after day, Musk also repeats a conspiracy theory claiming that the Democrats are “importing” illegal immigrants into key voting states to manipulate the elections. In yet another unusual step, Musk appeared on stage alongside Trump at a rally on October 5.
In the space of a few months, Musk seems to have partly tied his fate, and the future of his companies, to the outcome of the presidential election. If Trump is elected, Musk could enjoy enhanced power. The Republican candidate has promised that Musk would head a commission on government efficiency. This “genius” would also “advise” the White House on artificial intelligence, said Trump, defending a line rather opposed to regulation of this technology, in order to assert American power in the face of China
Editor: the vanity and hubris of the Trump/Musk political alliance represents a symbiosis. A selection:
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Musk could also count on maintaining or even increasing public orders for his rocket company SpaceX, and on a benevolent policy towards Tesla going forward. In early September, Trump claimed to be “for electric cars,” having been historically highly critical of electric vehicles. “I have to be, because Elon endorsed me very strongly. So I have no choice,” he added. His re-election would put Musk in “an unprecedented role: American oligarch,” wrote Politico magazine.
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“I’ve been trashing Kamala non-stop,” Musk laughed to Carlson, musing about “how many years in jail” he’d get.
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Harris’s platform also includes support for electric vehicles, from which Tesla already benefits, despite tensions with President Biden at the start of his term.
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Editor: Its ‘as if’ Musk were a candidate for office!
Musk has become a highly divisive figure among a section of the American population who are major buyers of electric vehicles in general and Tesla in particular. Among left-leaning Americans, the brand dropped from 39% to 18% of favorable opinions between January and July, according to another poll.
Editor : Damien Leloup and Alexandre Piquard present an analysis of Musk’s ‘failing businesses’.
Among the portfolio of Musk’s companies – he also owns satellite operator Starlink and tunnel-boring machine The Boring Company – X seems to be most at risk. The company is no longer listed on the stock market, but its value is said to have fallen by 80% since its takeover – from $44 billion to $9.4 billion – according to the sharp devaluation recorded in its accounts at the end of September by small shareholder fund Fidelity, reported TechCrunch. Revenues, meanwhile, have reportedly fallen from $5 billion to $3.4 billion between 2022 and 2023, according to Bloomberg, estimating losses of $500 million in the first half of 2023, despite layoffs and the launch of a paid subscription. This decline has since been compounded further by advertising, according to the New York Times. The cause is an exodus of advertisers, particularly the large corporations that used to provide the bulk of X’s revenues.
Editor: Musk’s bad Corporate manners, and rude dismissals seem to take a cue from the Trump of ‘The Apprentice’ ?
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“Fuck you!” Musk responded uncompromisingly at the New York Times DealBook festival, pointing the finger at the boss of Disney and accusing advertisers of wanting to “blackmail” or censor him.
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In June 2024, at the industry festival in Cannes, he acknowledged that “advertisers have a right to appear next to content they find compatible with their brands.” He admitted that he did “shoot himself in the foot” sometimes with his “real” communication style.
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Like Trump, Musk is very aggressive towards left-wing governments, whom he describes as censors or autocrats. In Europe, X is also engaged in a tug-of-war against Brussels over the application of the Digital Services Act (DSA) regulation on content moderation, sparking the opening of several investigations.
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Is Musk willing to risk everything for his convictions? That scenario is too much of a caricature. While extreme, the entrepreneur is also mercurial and sometimes pragmatic.
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While he likes to refer to Harris as a “communist,” he has so far been careful not to attack the Chinese Communist Party: Tesla’s production and sales depend heavily on its links with China.
Political Writer
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