Elon, Inc.

There’s a very old saying in Texas—“all hat and no cattle”—meaning essentially all talk, no action. Does this describe Musk, the state’s richest resident? Elon, Inc. went to Austin for a live taping at the South by Southwest festival to talk about Elon Musk’s influence on his newly adopted home, and also, its influence on him. David Papadopoulos was joined by Bloomberg Businessweek’s Max Chafkin and Rachel Monroe, who covers Texas and the Southwest for the New Yorker, as well as Sewell Chan, editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Elon, Inc., Businessweek senior reporter and editor Max Chafkin talks to Joshua Green, Businessweek’s political correspondent, about a recent meeting (or is it meetings?) of Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Elon has said that he won’t be donating to either US presidential candidate but — as recent X posts make clear — he is firmly in Trump’s political territory. Will Trump and Elon put aside past differences to somehow merge? We discuss.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk is mad at Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI. Musk has many grievances with the nonprofit research lab, some of which he has brought up repeatedly on podcasts, during television interviews and in social media posts. Among them: Musk thinks ChatGPT, the company’s AI chatbot, is insufficiently conservative (“WokeGPT,” he likes to call it), worries it might somehow lead to the end of the world if the chatbots get out of control and seems to be very frustrated about receiving insufficient credit for OpenAI’s achievements. (“I am the reason OpenAI exists,” he claimed on CNBC last year.) None of these are necessarily grounds for a legal complaint, which may be why the lawsuit he filed against OpenAI last week focuses on a related, but somewhat different grievance: Musk says he donated money to what he thought was a philanthropic research lab, only to discover it was Silicon Valley’s hottest startup, with an $86 billion valuation and ambitions for a whole lot more. To analyze the suit, and the feud between two of tech’s most powerful figures, Elon, Inc. called in Bloomberg’s official Elon Musk correspondent, Dana Hull, along with Bloomberg’s  unofficial one, Money Stuff author Matt Levine. We are also joined by tech reporter Shirin Ghaffary (and author of the Q&AI newsletter) for a discussion about the merits (or lack thereof) of Musk’s argument and the competitive state of play. We also cover Musk’s fight over pay in Delaware and the new (new?) Tesla Roadster.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Deal, hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly, features intimate conversations with business titans, sports champions and game-changing entrepreneurs who reveal their investment philosophies, pivotal career moves and the ones that got away. From Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals, The Deal is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, Bloomberg Carplay, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch The Deal on Bloomberg Television, and Bloomberg Originals on YouTube.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when Elon's formula for success goes wrong? In this episode we explored the failings of the Boring Company, Musk’s tunneling venture, with Bloomberg startups reporter Sarah McBride. When Musk started the company, in 2016, he did so with wild promises about super fast “hyperloop” travel, advanced tunnel boring machines, and dramatically lowered costs. But, as Bloomberg Businessweek reported yesterday, Boring Company workers say that Musk has achieved little in the way of actual innovations and has mostly focused on cutting corners, often at their expense. Also, Hannah Elliott, co-host of the Hot Pursuit! podcast, reviews the Cybertruck. Hannah had been skeptical of Musk’s weird retro-futuristic pickup, but she mostly liked it! With some important caveats, one being the surprising celebrity-like status of the driver. Finally, we dive into a feud with a possible happy ending.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bloomberg social media reporter Kurt Wagner discusses theories behind Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition, from confounding private jet tracking to strategic goals. Explore Twitter's evolution under Musk's leadership, his free speech advocacy, financial challenges post-acquisition, and potential future outcomes for the platform.

Over the past year or so, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system has become increasingly important—and along with that, valuable. It’s been in the news recently because Ukrainian officials said that Russia was using Starlink to help their military operations in occupied parts of Ukraine—something Musk himself has denied. At the same time, though, Musk has been vocal about his opinion that the US should not continue funding Ukraine in their fight against Russia, an opinion shared by many rightwing Republican politicians. Starlink has also been approved to work in another conflict zone, as Israel gave permission for a Starlink terminal to be parked in a field hospital in Gaza.  With all of the attention on Starlink’s role in conflict comes another, related question: how financially important is the product to Musk’s overall business empire? To talk about these questions, Elon, Inc. welcomed two Bloomberg experts to the panel: Marc Champion, a Bloomberg Opinion writer who has written about Musk’s role for both Ukraine and Russia, and Ed Ludlow, Bloomberg Technology reporter and TV host. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Barry Ritholtz, host of the podcast Masters in Business and founder of Ritholtz Wealth Management, discusses Elon Musk's prowess as a manager and marketer. They also talk about challenges and opportunities posed by Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, as well as criticism of Tesla's autopilot and safety concerns. The podcast delves into Elon Musk's achievements and impact, comparing him to Jeff Bezos, and explores the dynamic between Musk and SpaceX's Gwen Shotwell.

Elon Musk joins the podcast to discuss Tesla's declining stock price and the negative headlines surrounding his decision-making. The podcast also explores the polarizing views on Tesla among Wall Street analysts and the changing short interest in Tesla's stock. Additionally, Elon Musk's financial situation and alleged drug use are discussed, including debates surrounding his leadership and the impact on investors.

Elon Musk, billionaire CEO of Tesla and other companies, discusses the recent Delaware court ruling voiding his $55 billion compensation package and the implications for his business empire. The hosts explore Elon Musk's legal troubles, shareholder reactions, potential consequences, and effects of decreasing his share ownership and controversial tweets. They also touch on Musk's status as the richest person, his ownership of satellites, plans for an AI company, and the perception of him as a scam artist.