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Elon Musk done with DOGE - spending billions to influence midterm elections - Elon Musk Podcast · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everyone, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
• 0:05
  I'm thrilled to share some exciting news with you Over the
• 0:08
  next two weeks, we're evolving. We'll be broadening our focus to
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  cover all the tech Titans shaping our world.
• 0:15
  You'll still get the latest insights on Elon Musk, plus so
• 0:19
  much more. So stay tuned for our official
• 0:22
  relaunch coming soon. Now let's get into this episode.
• 0:26
  So Elon Musk is stepping away from his official role inside
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  the Trump administration, but not from political influence
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  altogether. With his tenure at the
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  Department of Government Efficiency winding down, Elon
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  Musk plans to use his wealth and his Platform X to shape the 2026
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  midterm elections. Instead of working inside the
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  government, he aims to fund Republican candidates and drive
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  national conversations from the outside.
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  Now, Musk's official exit is timed to the 130 day legal limit
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  on special government employees, but people close to him say it's
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  also personal. They describe Musk as exhausted
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  from constant attacks on his companies and ready to protect
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  his brand by spending less time in Washington.
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  Instead of being a lightning rod inside the government, Musk
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  intends to become a financial powerhouse outside of it.
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  During his year at Doge, Musk pursued the budget cuts, gaining
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  A reputation for showmanship and disruption.
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  He famously waved a chainsaw at a conservative conference,
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  pledging to hack away at bureaucracy and, if official
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  claims, credit DOGE with $160 billion in taxpayer savings.
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  But many independent reviewers point out errors, double counts
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  and inflated figures now. Musk's aggressive tactics
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  eventually wore thin inside the administration.
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  Cabinet secretaries who initially supported him became
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  more resistant, and by March, Trump reminded agency heads that
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  they had final authority over personal decisions, subtly
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  limiting Musk's reach without ending his influence.
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  Frustrations also spilled into public fights.
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  Musk clashed with Secretary of State Marco Rubio,
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  Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Treasury Secretary
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  Scott Basent. He called Trump's trade advisor
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  Peter Navarro a moron in private meetings.
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  Despite tensions, though, Musk remained a favorite of Trump,
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  who admired his willingness to take bold tasks and make them
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  easy. Now outside the White House,
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  Musk's political activities hurt Tesla's reputation.
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  His embrace of far right politics fueled protests,
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  boycotts of vandalism of Tesla dealerships, and a recent poll
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  found Musk's unfavorable rating had to climb to 58% compared to
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  the mid 30s just about two years ago.
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  In an effort to counteract the damage, Musk sought Trump's
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  public support, and after a weekend meeting at Mar a Lago,
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  Trump showcased a red Tesla Model S on the White House lawn,
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  calling it a symbol of American innovation.
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  Conservative media figures quickly echoed the message, but
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  controversy continued a trailing on Musk.
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  He also made a risky political bet in Wisconsin's high profile
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  Supreme Court election. He and allied groups spent
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  around $21 million can Conservative candidate Brad
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  Schimmel and liberal candidate Susan Crawford won by 10 points,
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  exposing how Musk's high profile involvement sometimes mobilizes
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  opponents more than the supporters now.
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  Since the Wisconsin defeat, though, Musk has retreated from
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  political showmanship. He now posts more about
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  technology and space than about politics.
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  At the same time, his allies remain embedded inside the
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  government, continuing the cost cutting initiatives Musk started
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  with DOGE. Now, despite failing to hit the
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  trillion dollar savings goals, Musk's imprint on Washington is
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  clear. He forced agencies to rethink
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  spending at personnel, even if the long term results remain
• 4:00
  uncertain. This methods created strain
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  inside major agencies, including the Social Security
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  Administration and Veteran Affairs.
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  And he put people out of work, hardworking Americans that need
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  that money to survive. He fired them with no recourse.
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  A lot of them are taking him and the federal government to task
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  on this and their lawsuits that are piling up now.
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  He rushed cuts and it caused real service disruptions and
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  these people are going to fight back now.
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  Musk's next chapter will not play out behind a government
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  desk, though. Instead, he'll use his money and
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  media empire to try to reshape American politics once again,
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  but from the outside, believing that dollars and influence can
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  move the country faster than federal job titles ever could.
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  So remember, people, vote for the person that you like.
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  Do not vote for the drama. A Musk is stepping out of the
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  White House, but he's stepping even deeper now into the
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  political arena. Hey, thank you so much for
• 5:09
  listening today. I really do appreciate your
• 5:12
  support. If you could take a second and
• 5:13
  hit subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
• 5:16
  platform that you're listening on right now, I greatly
• 5:19
  appreciate it. It helps out the show
• 5:21
  tremendously and you'll never miss an episode.
• 5:23
  And each episode is about 10 minutes or less to get you
• 5:27
  caught up quickly. And please, if you want to
• 5:30
  support the show even more, go to patreon.com/stage Zero.
• 5:36
  And please take care of yourselves and each other.
• 5:38
  And I'll see you tomorrow.