Memo to Musk
You got plenty to worry about
Musk has left the DOGE building. It's hard to say who's happier – Musk himself, or his baiters – but odds are, Vivek Ramaswamy marked the day with a platter of cheese enchiladas. Like taxes and death, Musk's exit was a given. US law allowed him a maximum of 130 days, and he left with one remaining. As an EV maker, he knows the importance of reserve charge. And range anxiety is a terrible thing. You aim to drive $2tn out of the federal budget but stall at $160bn. That's 8% mission accomplished. Poor, but better than a hat-trick of SpaceX's Starship failures in five months.
So, Musk should pull over and take stock. On the net worth front, allying with Trump has been good for him. Yes, some Teslas were burnt, and Tesla stock nosedived, but it's much higher than at this time last year, and Musk is about $175bn richer than he was at the same time. And while he's leaving after describing Trump's Big Beautiful Bill as disappointing, Trump's not nursing a grudge – 'He will, always, be with us…Elon is terrific.' That means, govt contracts for SpaceX won't dry up, and Lil X can pick his nose in the Oval Office. What Musk should worry about is BYD's fast-charging tech, Tesla's falling sales, bursting Starships, and Neuralink's competition. Nobody will remember Musk as Trump's beancounter, but as 'Rocket Man' – who once went shopping for Russian ICBMs to launch satellites – he has better odds.
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This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
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