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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsElon Musk Thought He Could Break History. Instead It Broke Him.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/11/opinion/elon-musk-washington-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GU8.OYQ0.wUD4copC7Whp&smid=url-shareThe partnership between the president and the richest man in the world is coming to an end. There is one clear loser in the breakup of this affair, and it is Elon Musk.
He fell from grace as effortlessly as he rose. Like a dime-store Icarus, he took too many chances, never understood the risks and flew too close to the sun. Wrapped in the halo of his social-media superstardom, he was blinded to the reality of his circumstances until it was too late.
Mr. Musk has already inked several lucrative federal contracts and could get far more, but he leaves Washington with his reputation as a genius jack-of-all-trades a reputation he relied on to boost his companys stock prices and win investors for his ambitious adventures severely damaged. Once likened to the Marvel superhero Tony Stark, he is becoming increasingly unpopular. Many formerly proud owners of his Tesla electric cars are trading them in or pasting apologies on their bumpers. Sales have plummeted.

Blues Heron
(6,905 posts)Musk must be brought to justice for what he is doing. Keep up the pressure at the Tesla takedowns every Saturday until he faces justice! Make the Tesla brand unacceptable!
Chemical Bill
(2,762 posts)He may have lost money on Tesla, but he has new, fat government contracts worth billions. Plus, he fired all of the workers who were tasked with regulating him.
Beartracks
(13,875 posts)The so-called "savings" from gutting agencies, payroll, and Federal employment benefits is far far exceeded by the Federal giveaways welfare contracts to Musk. And yeah, he's got his people in places they shouldn't be and LOTS and LOTS of Americans' personal data to sell.
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madaboutharry
(41,881 posts)Yesterday, in the parking lot at Trader Joe's, I saw a Tesla with this bumper sticker: "Anti Elon Tesla Club."
Apparently, anti-Tesla and anti-Elon bumper stickers are now a booming cottage industry.
I don't know anything about the auto industry, but I don't see how a company stays in business if no one wants to buy your car.
He may have gotten out of our faces on a daily basis, but he now knows everything about every American. He is a danger to our democracy. It makes me sick to think about the power all that information and data gives him.
Demovictory9
(35,681 posts)misanthrope
(8,729 posts)Musk is a danger to humanity.
BlueTsunami2018
(4,344 posts)Hes done that. Theres no reason for him to remain.
usonian
(17,536 posts)Last edited Sun May 11, 2025, 10:54 PM - Edit history (1)
if he has the password to the treasury's computers.
Johnny2X2X
(22,844 posts)I feel like he was doing drugs with his buddies watching sci-fi and he got it in his head that the only way to save humanity is to colonize Mars. And everything since then has been about that, including supporting Trump who told him he could go to Mars if he was President. Sure, hes a racist and a sexist. And he probably admires Nazism. But its this irrational quest for Mars that drives him more than anything.
mwmisses4289
(1,038 posts)As usual, you have gotten it all wrong. The only loser in this fiasco is the American people, especially the ones who didn't vote for it. Elon Musk is walking away with federal contracts worth hundreds of millions, possibly billions, of dollars. He set out to destroy many of the agencies that were investigating both him and it for various federal violations, with its blessing. The only losing Elon has done is trash the tesla brand by pissing off the brands original customer base, and even many of them posted to various websites that the vehicles were overpriced pieces of junk, culminating in the ultimate overpriced piece of junk called the cybertruck. So no, Elon isn't a loser. He got what he wanted, and will be laughing all the way to bank, his stardust city, and his austin compound.