Very good article. Something flying somewhat below the radar is that Tesla’s financial situation has deteriorated substantially since Trump’s election, European sales have now dropped five months in a row, the Cybertruck has flopped, Hyundai/GM/VW EV offerings are starting to find real success. I think Elon’s shortsightedness here can largely be explained by his financial interests, the subsides cut by BBB really are very important to his personal fortune (which is almost all Tesla stock). He is not willing to make sacrifices for larger ambitions. Trump promised Michigan autoworkers fairness and can’t renege. Elon is childish and as you said should be dealt with harshly.
Musk attempting to renegotiate the terms of his support by trying to fracture off a non existant conservative faction which he believed would be personally loyal to him, not only shows his inexperience, it shows the type of environment he steeps himself in at his companies. He mistakenly believed that the utter devotion that his employees have to him is at all representative of the conservative/maga movement. A ridiculous mistake from the outside, but an easy one for an unchecked narcissist to make.
It’s the rebellion of a Gamma: passive-aggressive and sniping the leader in half-hearted attempts to undermine. His success has gone to his head, especially because he’s surrounded himself with immigrant sycophants who praise him like the second coming. He can’t escape his archetype that pops out despite the mass media’s portrayal of him as a rockstar innovator.
I have had the pleasure of hearing about the working environment of Tesla from a former employee who is not politically bias or active. It's no wonder he needs H1Bs to operate. Its a disgusting culture that forces one to work hours that prevent one from having anything outside work.
They are reaching levels of the needful that should not be humanly possible. It’s disgusting. The burn out is so bad and he churns through them like all the (false) characterizations of early robber barons.
Your comment on the monarchists trying to break the revolution with the promise to resume the unpopular war with Germany reminds me of the sign tapper meme. It’s akin to Charlie Kirk-type (though not him as he’s finally coming around to good positions) saying we need to stop the anti-White DEI madness and close the border so we can get our military strong enough to take out the Iranian Regime. They don’t know how to market policies that would be popular because they frame it with the wrong objectives. The monarchists could say we will put down the Bolsheviks because they are creating a lawless zone of rape, pillage, and murder. Just as conservatives can say we need to end DEI because our bridges are starting to collapse and close the border because the illegals are draining public assistance while undercutting wages for Americans.
Another good recent comparison of not understanding framing would he that "you want your county back? fuck you" concert in England, where Ted Cruz's angle on it was that the revolutionary only crossed the line for him when the IDF was mentioned. Turning the conversation from mass migration to foreign engagements is insane.
Yes! He can’t be bothered to take our own side in his vision. It’s in defense of another country’s honor. Israelis aren’t being replaced in London. White Londoners are and being mocked by the people brought in by their own government! At a certain point, it’s willful sabotage of a clear message that will win the already enraged populace just waiting for someone to champion their cause and defense. The UK speech codes are so intense though that I doubt that a public figure will emerge anytime soon. Change will sadly be from targeted violence like the lunatic right wing guy who killed that female politician right before BREXIT and listed his name as “Death to traitors.” I don’t advocate violence! I just want the world to stop killing itself!
You can tell that Elon is used to being the top dog in any organization he is a part of and doesn't play nicely with others. Elon seems to have wanted Trump to just cosign anything he did and hand over the populist right to the tech bros for them to determine policy. As you pointed out, the Christmas h1b debacle blew up in his face and let Elon know that wasn't a viable strategy.
When you're a c suite executive, everyone listens to you and at least pretends to implement all of your ideas, even if they would be incredibly bad for morale or long-term stability (look up Tesla or SpaceX work-life balance to see how Musk actually likes to run his companies and treats people who disagree with him)
When you're coming into a pre-existing movement, you have to figure out the political structure of that movement and adapt, figuring out where you can fit in and make deals to get access to higher levels of the organization. It seems like Elon either didn't know this, or thought he could just bend all of it to his will with his megadonor status as often happens in left wing political groups. Either way, should be completely disqualifying for him to be anything other than a donor with limited access from here on out. Maybe he'll have the time now to be a good father to one of his dozen children.
Counter revolutionaries like Musk are doing it as a second job or hobby mostly. If his political efforts fail, Musk can just go and focus 100% on his rockets or other productive ventures. If the Leftist revolutionaries fail, then they have no NGO carve-outs and find their identity collapse. Failure is not an option for them. They play to win, fight dirty, and rally around any other Leftist like they’re in a trench together. I had more hopes for Musk because it seemed like a personal vendetta about his son they transed but he is too politically impulsive to keep a laser focus.
Musk and Vivek are vile. Dealing with them is incredibly exhausting. Thankfully most people on the right are siding with Trump/Miller and it is clear that we are winning this internal struggle.
The Christmas H1B meltdown was when I knew Musk’s days as Trump’s lieutenant were numbered. Our chief political aim is the extirpation of immigrants and prevention of further immigration. If Musk couldn’t stay steadfast on that than his usefulness to MAGA post election was small. I think his support for Trump was largely out of self preservation and he thought he no longer needed to have the president’s side after he perceived the danger to have been averted.
Excellent article. I especially appreciate the mention of the lack of standards on the political right, as it's something that has always driven me up a wall. The stakes have never been higher with the very existence of America on the line, and yet we have constant quibbling and bickering over non-issues derailing very real efforts to stem the tide. Hopefully this blowout with Musk can be used to set an example for any would be troublemakers, but only time will tell on that front.
One great difference between the right and the left in America is that the left understands that politics is real and the right doesn’t.
Trump understands this. His change from 2016 Trump to 2024 Trump clearly demonstrates this.
But the rest of the right is still playing catchup. Most want to posture being conservative, for whatever perceived financial or social benefits they may accrue as a result, then go home and be a lib. Elon, correctly, sensed a shift in the winds but he can’t divorce that shift from the set of beliefs he’s beholden to. Like a Kaschuta or a Pedro, you can only LARP for so long before it becomes clear that your outwardly held beliefs conflict with your true inwardly held beliefs.
Politics is very real and the stakes are high, we can’t go on continuing to pretend like it’s not because when the real consequences come about, and they’ve started to, any sense of pretend will be the last thing on people’s minds.
There’s comfort in a moral consensus and I don’t think most people want to or have prepared themselves for a world where that moral consensus, the progressive liberal orthodoxy that currently exists, is shown to be wrong and harmful.
Great article MG very unrelated I just read Michael Anton describing his book about suits as “Machiavelli pastiche” and rushed here to inform paid subscribers
It is really incredible how people will act completely against their own interests. The other day a friend of mine for over a decade was posting Jackson Hinkle tweets on Instagram. I privately told him that Hinkle was a communist. He then went on a rant about the Jews and his experiences on his Mormon mission. I asked him how siding with communist would help Americans. He launched into another rant about how deposing the “Jewish order” is all that matters and how after he will call communist retarded. He then went onto attack me quite personally. I don’t think I will ever speak to him again as a result. It almost be disheartening if these people weren’t so incapable. To succeed we must be clear minded and work to achieve real goals. People who devote themselves to real or imagined mythical issues need to told they aren’t productive. We can save this country! Good things can happen! We just need to try.
Good article and certainly articulates a feeling a lot of us have had.
My addition to any analysis of Musk and 2024 election would be:
Musk cares about getting to Mars, that’s his reason for being (at the moment) and what everything is aimed at. He saw Kamala as an existential risk to that and acted accordingly. Backing Trump was risk mitigation 101.
Having achieved the short term fix of getting Trump in (which while I agree Twitter especially helped I’m questionable on the rest but that’s neither here nor there) he reverted to standard Elon: which is “I’m the richest/smartest guy in the room and I get whatever I want” and yes 100 percent that doesn’t work in Government (neither in the Bureaucracy nor the Executive)
As soon as he was in the Whitehouse he wasn’t number 1 anymore, he was down the chain. Not a position he’s been in for a long time.
Then I think when some of his “ideas” hit rough times (plus the drugs), plus the guy who was going to run NASA (was a dude Trump had sued before lol) he realised he couldn’t do what he thought he could inside the fence.
Not excusing his behaviour post that because the flame out was massive.
I do think it is a net benefit to society to have Musk doing his core projects though as that’s what he’s best at.
I’d also note that Adam Townsend on X has pointed out that even before the flame out, there were plenty in the admin looking to mitigate reliance on Space X. Adam has also been pointing out how Musk is trying to plant the seeds reUS bankruptcy/debt hard, which as you point out in the article is like whatever, but the BBB needs to happen or a bunch of opportunities get lost.
You’ve also got to wonder re China…. Like how compromised is Musk to be able operate there (and how many spawn does he have over there? (Which could be used as blackmail))
Musk is the owner of the world’s most important (and *only* conservative) news / social platform. Without twitter, the American Right would again be taking its cues again from the likes of Fox News. A barrage of pro-Israel stories disrupted only occasionally by heartwarming tales of hardworking immigrants.
The administration can quietly shuffle him offstage and they should for all the reasons you mentioned, but they’re not going to be punitive with him nor do I think they should be.
Very good article. Something flying somewhat below the radar is that Tesla’s financial situation has deteriorated substantially since Trump’s election, European sales have now dropped five months in a row, the Cybertruck has flopped, Hyundai/GM/VW EV offerings are starting to find real success. I think Elon’s shortsightedness here can largely be explained by his financial interests, the subsides cut by BBB really are very important to his personal fortune (which is almost all Tesla stock). He is not willing to make sacrifices for larger ambitions. Trump promised Michigan autoworkers fairness and can’t renege. Elon is childish and as you said should be dealt with harshly.
Musk attempting to renegotiate the terms of his support by trying to fracture off a non existant conservative faction which he believed would be personally loyal to him, not only shows his inexperience, it shows the type of environment he steeps himself in at his companies. He mistakenly believed that the utter devotion that his employees have to him is at all representative of the conservative/maga movement. A ridiculous mistake from the outside, but an easy one for an unchecked narcissist to make.
It’s the rebellion of a Gamma: passive-aggressive and sniping the leader in half-hearted attempts to undermine. His success has gone to his head, especially because he’s surrounded himself with immigrant sycophants who praise him like the second coming. He can’t escape his archetype that pops out despite the mass media’s portrayal of him as a rockstar innovator.
I have had the pleasure of hearing about the working environment of Tesla from a former employee who is not politically bias or active. It's no wonder he needs H1Bs to operate. Its a disgusting culture that forces one to work hours that prevent one from having anything outside work.
They are reaching levels of the needful that should not be humanly possible. It’s disgusting. The burn out is so bad and he churns through them like all the (false) characterizations of early robber barons.
Your comment on the monarchists trying to break the revolution with the promise to resume the unpopular war with Germany reminds me of the sign tapper meme. It’s akin to Charlie Kirk-type (though not him as he’s finally coming around to good positions) saying we need to stop the anti-White DEI madness and close the border so we can get our military strong enough to take out the Iranian Regime. They don’t know how to market policies that would be popular because they frame it with the wrong objectives. The monarchists could say we will put down the Bolsheviks because they are creating a lawless zone of rape, pillage, and murder. Just as conservatives can say we need to end DEI because our bridges are starting to collapse and close the border because the illegals are draining public assistance while undercutting wages for Americans.
Another good recent comparison of not understanding framing would he that "you want your county back? fuck you" concert in England, where Ted Cruz's angle on it was that the revolutionary only crossed the line for him when the IDF was mentioned. Turning the conversation from mass migration to foreign engagements is insane.
Yes! He can’t be bothered to take our own side in his vision. It’s in defense of another country’s honor. Israelis aren’t being replaced in London. White Londoners are and being mocked by the people brought in by their own government! At a certain point, it’s willful sabotage of a clear message that will win the already enraged populace just waiting for someone to champion their cause and defense. The UK speech codes are so intense though that I doubt that a public figure will emerge anytime soon. Change will sadly be from targeted violence like the lunatic right wing guy who killed that female politician right before BREXIT and listed his name as “Death to traitors.” I don’t advocate violence! I just want the world to stop killing itself!
You can tell that Elon is used to being the top dog in any organization he is a part of and doesn't play nicely with others. Elon seems to have wanted Trump to just cosign anything he did and hand over the populist right to the tech bros for them to determine policy. As you pointed out, the Christmas h1b debacle blew up in his face and let Elon know that wasn't a viable strategy.
When you're a c suite executive, everyone listens to you and at least pretends to implement all of your ideas, even if they would be incredibly bad for morale or long-term stability (look up Tesla or SpaceX work-life balance to see how Musk actually likes to run his companies and treats people who disagree with him)
When you're coming into a pre-existing movement, you have to figure out the political structure of that movement and adapt, figuring out where you can fit in and make deals to get access to higher levels of the organization. It seems like Elon either didn't know this, or thought he could just bend all of it to his will with his megadonor status as often happens in left wing political groups. Either way, should be completely disqualifying for him to be anything other than a donor with limited access from here on out. Maybe he'll have the time now to be a good father to one of his dozen children.
Counter revolutionaries like Musk are doing it as a second job or hobby mostly. If his political efforts fail, Musk can just go and focus 100% on his rockets or other productive ventures. If the Leftist revolutionaries fail, then they have no NGO carve-outs and find their identity collapse. Failure is not an option for them. They play to win, fight dirty, and rally around any other Leftist like they’re in a trench together. I had more hopes for Musk because it seemed like a personal vendetta about his son they transed but he is too politically impulsive to keep a laser focus.
Musk and Vivek are vile. Dealing with them is incredibly exhausting. Thankfully most people on the right are siding with Trump/Miller and it is clear that we are winning this internal struggle.
The Christmas H1B meltdown was when I knew Musk’s days as Trump’s lieutenant were numbered. Our chief political aim is the extirpation of immigrants and prevention of further immigration. If Musk couldn’t stay steadfast on that than his usefulness to MAGA post election was small. I think his support for Trump was largely out of self preservation and he thought he no longer needed to have the president’s side after he perceived the danger to have been averted.
Excellent article. I especially appreciate the mention of the lack of standards on the political right, as it's something that has always driven me up a wall. The stakes have never been higher with the very existence of America on the line, and yet we have constant quibbling and bickering over non-issues derailing very real efforts to stem the tide. Hopefully this blowout with Musk can be used to set an example for any would be troublemakers, but only time will tell on that front.
The Bolsheviks won because they were literally plan-trusters. They believed in the historical inevitably of Marxism.
One great difference between the right and the left in America is that the left understands that politics is real and the right doesn’t.
Trump understands this. His change from 2016 Trump to 2024 Trump clearly demonstrates this.
But the rest of the right is still playing catchup. Most want to posture being conservative, for whatever perceived financial or social benefits they may accrue as a result, then go home and be a lib. Elon, correctly, sensed a shift in the winds but he can’t divorce that shift from the set of beliefs he’s beholden to. Like a Kaschuta or a Pedro, you can only LARP for so long before it becomes clear that your outwardly held beliefs conflict with your true inwardly held beliefs.
Politics is very real and the stakes are high, we can’t go on continuing to pretend like it’s not because when the real consequences come about, and they’ve started to, any sense of pretend will be the last thing on people’s minds.
There’s comfort in a moral consensus and I don’t think most people want to or have prepared themselves for a world where that moral consensus, the progressive liberal orthodoxy that currently exists, is shown to be wrong and harmful.
And sorry to keep replying to myself but to tie it back into the piece:
The problem the real political right has is the business of building something from the ashes.
The benefit the political left has is a defense of the current order.
Building and attacking are hard, defense is easy especially when your defenses have been entrenched for decades or more.
Great article MG very unrelated I just read Michael Anton describing his book about suits as “Machiavelli pastiche” and rushed here to inform paid subscribers
“Revolution From Above” by Kerry Bolton
It is really incredible how people will act completely against their own interests. The other day a friend of mine for over a decade was posting Jackson Hinkle tweets on Instagram. I privately told him that Hinkle was a communist. He then went on a rant about the Jews and his experiences on his Mormon mission. I asked him how siding with communist would help Americans. He launched into another rant about how deposing the “Jewish order” is all that matters and how after he will call communist retarded. He then went onto attack me quite personally. I don’t think I will ever speak to him again as a result. It almost be disheartening if these people weren’t so incapable. To succeed we must be clear minded and work to achieve real goals. People who devote themselves to real or imagined mythical issues need to told they aren’t productive. We can save this country! Good things can happen! We just need to try.
Good article and certainly articulates a feeling a lot of us have had.
My addition to any analysis of Musk and 2024 election would be:
Musk cares about getting to Mars, that’s his reason for being (at the moment) and what everything is aimed at. He saw Kamala as an existential risk to that and acted accordingly. Backing Trump was risk mitigation 101.
Having achieved the short term fix of getting Trump in (which while I agree Twitter especially helped I’m questionable on the rest but that’s neither here nor there) he reverted to standard Elon: which is “I’m the richest/smartest guy in the room and I get whatever I want” and yes 100 percent that doesn’t work in Government (neither in the Bureaucracy nor the Executive)
As soon as he was in the Whitehouse he wasn’t number 1 anymore, he was down the chain. Not a position he’s been in for a long time.
Then I think when some of his “ideas” hit rough times (plus the drugs), plus the guy who was going to run NASA (was a dude Trump had sued before lol) he realised he couldn’t do what he thought he could inside the fence.
Not excusing his behaviour post that because the flame out was massive.
I do think it is a net benefit to society to have Musk doing his core projects though as that’s what he’s best at.
I’d also note that Adam Townsend on X has pointed out that even before the flame out, there were plenty in the admin looking to mitigate reliance on Space X. Adam has also been pointing out how Musk is trying to plant the seeds reUS bankruptcy/debt hard, which as you point out in the article is like whatever, but the BBB needs to happen or a bunch of opportunities get lost.
You’ve also got to wonder re China…. Like how compromised is Musk to be able operate there (and how many spawn does he have over there? (Which could be used as blackmail))
Musk is the owner of the world’s most important (and *only* conservative) news / social platform. Without twitter, the American Right would again be taking its cues again from the likes of Fox News. A barrage of pro-Israel stories disrupted only occasionally by heartwarming tales of hardworking immigrants.
The administration can quietly shuffle him offstage and they should for all the reasons you mentioned, but they’re not going to be punitive with him nor do I think they should be.
You know what free subscribers remind me of?
The Russian Civil War…