What a year 2024 has been for Elon Musk. From the ups-and-downs of Tesla stock, to his rapid ascent to the top of Republican party politics to various SpaceX wins and losses, it seems like a year that Musk won’t forget. And neither will we: for the year-end episode, we actually have a two-part special, featuring Max Chafkin as host, Dana Hull (Elon Musk reporter) and Sarah Frier (Big Tech editor) as panelists and a special guest, Ryan Broderick, host of his own podcast, Panic World, and Garbage ...
Dec 20, 2024•37 min
For the past day or so, Elon Musk has been singularly focused, on X, on one target: funding the US government. He has, basically, single-handedly, killed a bipartisan bill that would keep the federal government running through January 1, 2025. To unpack what is happening — and will what will happen — Max Chafkin sits down with Bloomberg News reporter Ted Mann. It’s a huge gamble, by Musk and Trump, on what could be a very problematic start to Trump’s new administration. See omnystudio.com/listen...
Dec 19, 2024•12 min
The simmering feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman is boiling again. In the latest round, OpenAI, which is being sued by Musk, uncorked a long post last week that included emails purporting to show that Musk didn’t really care about the safety of artificial intelligence (as he has long said he does). According to OpenAI, Musk just wanted to control the company. Also on the docket for Elon, Inc. this week: a conversation with Bloomberg reporter Loren Grush, along with regulars Dana Hull and Max ...
Dec 17, 2024•34 min
Elon Musk is frequently on the move, but in his new role as Donald Trump’s wealthiest enforcer, he seems to be everywhere at once. One minute he’s on Capitol Hill with Vivek Ramaswamy pushing his boss’s government-gutting agenda, the next he’s in Paris with the president-elect for some awkward mingling with the global elite. Then he’s back at Mar-a-Lago, huddling with Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban. Bloomberg political writer Josh Green joins Max Chafkin and Dana Hull to talk about these devel...
Dec 10, 2024•33 min
This holiday season, it would seem that Elon Musk has much to be thankful for—he even spent Thanksgiving by Donald Trump’s side in Mar-a-Lago. But last night, a Delaware judge handed him a rare defeat, rejecting yet again his enormous Tesla pay package. To discuss this and other legal matters, the Elon, Inc. team has brought on Bloomberg legal reporter Jef Feeley as well as the regular crew: Sarah Frier, Max Chakin, and Dana Hull. The gang also discuss Elon's shifting customer base. One conseque...
Dec 03, 2024•35 min
There have been a lot of raised eyebrows over Elon Musk’s “DOGE” (not the cryptocurrency), short for Trump 2.0’s “Department of Government Efficiency.” It’s Donald Trump’s project for Musk: he’s assigned his wealthiest donor the task of cutting government spending by about $2 trillion (most of which is constitutionally up to Congress, but anyway...), in part by gutting or eliminating key regulatory agencies. The DOGE will be co-led by former presidential candidate, fellow tech entrepreneur and n...
Nov 26, 2024•36 min
In this limited series, Odd Lots explains some of the thorniest issues facing the US economy through the medium of … chicken. Chicken occupies a unique position in the US diet, but issues facing the poultry industry illustrate wider points about the development of the US economy and the decisions being made about how it's structured and who benefits from it. So why has the chicken industry evolved in the way that it has? What’s been driving the price increases in eggs and meat? And what does it ...
Nov 24, 2024•2 min
When Donald Trump claimed victory, early in the morning of Nov. 6, he did so not only for himself, his campaign staff and the voters who backed him–but also for the billionaire industrialist and media mogul who’d become his most unlikely supporter. “A star is born: Elon,” Trump said, his mouth lingering on the name. “He’s an amazing guy.” In this episode, we talk to journalists, academics and a historian about how to measure the scale and scope of Musk's win. Can anyone, or anything, hold someon...
Nov 22, 2024•21 min
Does money speak? And if so, what is it saying about Elon Musk and Donald Trump? In this episode of Elon, Inc., the panel—host David Papadopoulos, Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull, social media reporter Kurt Wagner and Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer Max Chafkin—consider how Musk has benefited from his incredibly close relationship with the president-elect, even as some cracks emerge between them. Also discussed: Bluesky, a new version of what Twitter was before Musk got a hold of it, has had a...
Nov 19, 2024•36 min
It’s hard to believe it’s only been a week since the US presidential election. First Friend Elon Musk has been very busy—from talking on the phone to world leaders to racking up billions of dollars in additional wealth as Tesla stock soars (thanks to widespread expectations of presidential favor). To hash all of this out, Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer Max Chafkin leads a discussion with Bloomberg technology editor Sarah Frier, Elon Musk reporter Dana Hull and wealth reporter Tom Maloney. ...
Nov 12, 2024•26 min
Mere hours after Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election, Elon, Inc. headed to the studio to do some processing. Max Chafkin and Dana Hull discuss how much credit Musk can take, how he spent election day and night and what’s next for America as Musk seems poised to occupy an important role in shaping Trump’s second term. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 06, 2024•19 min
Consider this your Elon Musk-election night buffet: the Elon, Inc. crew, headed by host David Papadopoulos, discuss what’s at stake for Musk and what’s transpired over the last week of this seemingly endless US presidential campaign. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 05, 2024•29 min
Be in the know this election with Bloomberg Podcasts. Follow Bloomberg News Now for up-to-the minute election results, all night long. And go deeper with The Big Take podcast, featuring in-depth global analysis of the US election every day this week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 04, 2024•1 min
Elon Musk announced his support for Donald Trump on July 13, minutes after the attempt on Trump’s life at a rally in Pennsylvania. Since then, the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX has been engaged in what amounts to one of the all-time largest political spending sprees. That’s not even counting what many have called the biggest in-kind political gift in history: Musk’s social media platform, X. In this second episode of Citizen Elon, we explore what Musk stands to gain, how he's wielding his ...
Nov 01, 2024•25 min
This has been a huge week for Elon Musk: First, the Tesla stock rally, in reaction to a good earnings report, made him billions of dollars richer (at least on paper). Then, Musk continued his full-throated campaign for Donald Trump with a marquee appearance at Madison Square Garden, leading chants of “USA!” to adoring fans amid a rally that featured the most racially inflammatory language yet of the Republican’s campaign. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Oct 29, 2024•29 min
Donald Trump and Elon Musk occupied two entirely different worlds. Until they didn’t. In this episode, we learn how their paths as public figures — often informed and provoked by personal grievances — brought them together. Which snubs, perceived or not, prompted Musk to dip his toes in the politics pool? We hear from misinformation scholars, right wing media experts, Bloomberg journalists, and people who have worked closely with Musk—close enough to discuss what he and Trump might have in commo...
Oct 25, 2024•24 min
Elon Musk has made more headlines than usual as he travels all over Pennsylvania, working to help Donald Trump win the state in the Nov. 5 presidential election. As usual, the right-wing billionaire (Musk in this case) has been doing things his way, behaving like Trump by pushing traditional boundaries for campaigning, while also potentially violating election laws. Musk’s latest gambit, to offer swing state residents the chance at winning a $1 million if they sign a petition promising they’ll s...
Oct 22, 2024•28 min
Over the course of one weekend in July, the presidential election was turned on its head. This is when news organizations announced that Elon Musk was backing Donald Trump—and gave a real endorsement, something he said he’d never do. What does it mean that the world’s richest man has been united with not just any presidential candidate, but Trump? In this three-part series from Elon, Inc. , we will explore how Musk’s politics have (and haven’t) changed over time; what the mercurial CEO of a huge...
Oct 22, 2024•2 min
When sports, business and culture collide, there’s often a deal to be made. Join Alex Rodriguez and Bloomberg correspondent Jason Kelly as they get the inside track from corporate titans, sports champions and game-changing entrepreneurs on investing, strategy, reinvention and the ones that got away. The Deal is a Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals series that’s passionate, relaxed, insightful and inspirational. If you think you know these icons, prepare to be surprised. See omnystudio.co...
Oct 20, 2024•2 min
In the wake of his disappointing “robotaxi” launch and Wall Street’s punishing response, Elon Musk had at least one reason to celebrate this past week: the successful deployment of a complicated rocket retrieval system. But that doesn’t mean we are done picking through the Robotaxi unveiling and how the Optimus robots weren’t really “robots.” To unpack these events, we have reporters Loren Grush and Dana Hull as well as Bloomberg Television correspondent Ed Ludlow. Then we feature reporter Kurt ...
Oct 15, 2024•33 min
It was a late night for Tesla fans, investors and journalists as the much-discussed unveiling of Elon Musk’s “cybercab” (or is it “robotaxi?”) was significantly delayed from its scheduled 10 pm ET start. And while the aesthetics of the vehicle got some rave reviews, details on production of a new wave of autonomous vehicles—let alone their potential deployment—were scant. To get a quick round-up of thoughts, David Papadopoulos jumped into the studio with Bloomberg editor Craig Trudell to discuss...
Oct 11, 2024•15 min
This week was supposed to be all about Thursday’s big Tesla unveiling—but Elon Musk jumped (literally) on stage with his new best friend, Donald Trump, prompting all sorts of memes in a week when he may have revealed his real motivation for backing a convicted felon for president. On this episode of Elon, Inc., we preview what people can expect in a Robotaxi with Dana, Max and Bloomberg editor Craig Trudell, and dig into Musk’s rebirth as a Republican megadonor with a special guest—journalist Ja...
Oct 08, 2024•36 min
As we’ve previously discussed here on Elon, Inc., the billionaire’s posts on X have grown more and more political—and right wing—over time. This week, we have Bloomberg’s Jonathan Tirone with us to discuss how Elon Musk, and his platform, have brought the once-obscure, White nationalist term “remigration” back into US politics. Then, tech reporter Kurt Wagner talks to Jack Sweeney, the young man who made a flight tracking service Musk personally de-platformed. Plus: Tesla seems poised to uncork ...
Oct 01, 2024•37 min
Feuds. Can’t beat ‘em, can’t stop ‘em. At Elon, Inc., we’ve long covered Elon Musk’s penchant for a public feud at the end of episodes, but today feuds take center stage. David and Max talk to Bloomberg emerging markets reporter Julia Leite, who is based in Brazil, about Musk’s evolving legal situation there. Then Dana joins to talk about the Cybertruck situation in Chechnya. We can't help ourselves. There's two extra feuds, both related to land-use disputes. First, the party game Cards Against ...
Sep 24, 2024•31 min
As we chronicle every week on Elon, Inc., Elon Musk contains multitudes. He leads six companies, runs his own social-media platform and is now explicitly working to re-elect Donald Trump as president. This week, we talk about two very different kinds of Musk stories. One is about his behavior on X, and the rare tweet he took down. The other is about how his space company, SpaceX, is having a great run of late, with a successful space walk and a new deal with United Airlines. See omnystudio.com/l...
Sep 17, 2024•31 min
Does Elon Musk consider all of his companies to be one giant company? That’s something that comes up in today’s episode as host David, Dana and Max consider a recent report on Tesla potentially giving up future revenue in exchange for access to Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI access. That brings up corporate governance issues. And then, Dana speaks to New York Times reporter Kirsten Grind about a story she wrote on Musk’s plans regarding Mars. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
Sep 10, 2024•37 min
After months of back and forth, Brazil finally did what it’s been threatening to do: ban X. This comes on the heels of government complaints from Britain and elsewhere about false information thriving on Elon Musk’s embattled social media platform—some of it from Musk himself. In this episode of Elon, Inc., we dig into Brazil’s action and also talk about the Android app launch of X TV, a way to watch video content from the former Twitter on your home TV screen. Our panel—David Papadopoulos, Max ...
Sep 03, 2024•25 min
Tesla is often heralded as Elon Musk’s premiere company, the business at the foundation of all his other businesses. But as Tesla has struggled and lost market share, it’s SpaceX that keeps surging ahead of the competition. SpaceX is trying to add the first commercial spacewalk to its list of accomplishments, and is set to bail out embattled rival Boeing by retrieving astronauts stranded by its faulty Starliner. This week reporters Loren Grush and Bruce Einhorn sift through the developments and ...
Aug 27, 2024•32 min
Reality TV stars are freezing their eggs on camera. Lawmakers in DC are debating federal protection for IVF. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested in slick startups that market fertility treatments for all. But this rapid growth has revealed cracks in the system. Misconception , a new series from Bloomberg’s Prognosis, follows reporter Kristen V. Brown on her own intimate journey as she uncovers the business of fertility. Along the way, she finds a fractured industry — a profit-driv...
Aug 23, 2024•2 min
Last week, X users might have noticed a new kind of artificial intelligence-generated image proliferating: strange visions of Elon Musk next to Disney characters carrying guns, or Donald Trump in all kinds of, well, weird situations. This was what followed a new release of Musk’s Grok AI tool, which can now make images—unsurprisingly with fewer guardrails than other image-creating machines out there. On this episode we’ll talk about Grok’s new skillset and also get into the semiotics of the Cybe...
Aug 20, 2024•30 min
