Elon, Inc.

• Elon Opens a Restaurant, Strikes a Chip Deal, Dreams of Robots

  The growing blowback from years of spreading conspiracy theories, embracing far-right political causes and attempting to dismantle the US government (with calamitous results for millions) might have finally taken its toll on Elon Musk and his companies. Or perhaps not. Last week’s Tesla earnings call ended on a somber note, with world’s richest man declaring his struggling and divisive electric car company could have “a few rough quarters” ahead. With revenue down 12% and the political climate for electric vehicles darkening courtesy of his former boss in the White House, who can blame him? But nothing is ever absolute when it comes to the world’s most famous living native of South Africa. Mere days later, Tesla announced a new $16.5 billion chip deal with Samsung, and over the weekend a now-jolly Musk proclaimed in his usual hyperbolic manner that Tesla might rake in $30 trillion per year from sales of its humanoid robot (yes, with a T). Oh, and on July 21, Tesla opened its first diner in the heart of Hollywood. Alongside a $9 grilled cheese sandwich and a contentious, four-story movie screen, protests immediately followed. On this week’s episode Max Chafkin discusses all the latest Tesla news with Bloomberg’s Elon Musk reporter, Dana Hull. The duo also welcome Bloomberg health reporter Ike Swetlitz to hear about the latest from Neuralink, Musk’s brain implant company. In the spirit of Musk’s dreams of robot trillions, that company proclaimed it expects $1 billion in annual revenue by 2031, with chips inserted into 20,000 brains annually. Currently, the number is nine. But maybe a bionic eye will prompt second looks. Also, Chafkin and Hull take a look at the latest news from Musk’s tunnel company Boring, which just scored a deal to drill a passage in red state Tennessee, from downtown Nashville to the city’s airport. If history is any guide, there might be a hiccup or two. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Musk’s Trump Feud Is Still Hurting His Empire

  On this week’s episode of Elon, Inc., host Max Chafkin and Bloomberg News reporter Ed Ludlow discuss their cover story for the latest issue of Bloomberg Businessweek. Their reporting details the ways in which Elon Musk’s companies—specifically Tesla, SpaceX and xAI—are struggling in the wake of his feud with President Donald Trump. Chafkin and Ludlow break down where each of these companies stands now, and analyze how investors are rationalizing their continued investments in the multibillionaire’s sprawling endeavors. Then Bloomberg News technology editor Sarah Frier takes over the hosting chair to interview Wall Street Journal reporter Dana Mattioli about Musk’s many offspring, including his custody agreements and pro-natalist leanings. The conversation is the second in a summer series in which our Elon, Inc. panelists interview Musk reporters from outside Bloomberg about stories we wished we wrote first. Mattioli explains Musk’s stated desire to populate Mars and further populate Earth, how he’s using his social media platform to recruit mothers and why observers think it’s likely he has more than the 14 kids that are publicly known. She also digs into how Musk’s fixer Jared Birchall has interacted with the mothers of Musk’s children, including Ashley St. Clair, whose public child support battle with Musk shed light on Birchall’s tactics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Forget DOGE. Musk Is Suddenly All In on AI

  On this week’s episode of Elon, Inc., host Max Chafkin and Bloomberg News reporters Dana Hull and Kurt Wagner chat about Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI. The endeavor just debuted its new Grok 4 model on the heels of an antisemitism controversy, but Musk sees a brighter future for his creation, claiming it might discover “new physics” one day. Before that happens, though, the buzziest feature of the model is its AI companions—including a pigtailed and corseted anime character. Musk introduced Grok 4 as news dropped that one of his other companies, SpaceX, would invest in xAI, and that another company he happens to run, Tesla, might follow suit (pending a shareholder vote). Our guests discuss what exactly it means when a rocket company and a car company invest in another company that’s making AI girlfriends, especially when all those companies happen to be run by the richest man in the world. Then Wagner takes over the hosting chair to interview New York Times reporter Teddy Schleifer about the role Musk and his Silicon Valley billionaire pals have played in building the Trump administration, starting before the Republican took office. The conversation is the first in a summer series in which our Elon, Inc. panelists interview Musk reporters about the stories we’re jealous we didn’t write first. Schleifer recounts the weeks following Election Day last year, when Musk embedded himself at Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago in an effort to influence the future president’s plans. As candidates for top cabinet positions began swinging by the Florida club, they found themselves seated across from Musk’s loyal aides. Wagner and Schleifer also discuss the constantly evolving relationship between Musk and Trump, and whether Musk will still be involved in politics when the year comes to a close.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Emergency Episode: Linda Yaccarino Leaves X

  The day after Grok started spewing antisemitic propaganda, X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced that she's leaving the company. The timing sticks out, although sources says she's been planning an exit for a while. In this emergency episode, Max Chafkin summons Bloomberg's big tech team leader Sarah Frier to chat about Linda's legacy, her possible future plans and the timing of her departure.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Can Elon’s ‘America Party’ Dream Come True?

  On this week’s episode, David Papadopoulos invites Bloomberg political reporter Nancy Cook and Bloomberg Businessweek’s Max Chafkin to the studio to discuss Elon Musk’s latest idea—the creation of the “America Party.” Third parties have famously been losing propositions in American politics, and Cook questions if the distractible multibillionaire even has the patience to handle the paperwork required to register with the Federal Election Commission. And then there’s his constant string of controversies. Chafkin wonders if there’s a reliable base out there hungry to support the party of a man who called Social Security a Ponzi scheme, initiated a feud with President Donald Trump (still popular with much of Musk’s theoretical rank and file) and whose “DOGE” initiative on Trump’s behalf is accused by some of worsening the catastrophic consequences of the recent flooding in Texas. Nevertheless, history shows just how disruptive third parties can be when the margins are slim, as they are now. Cook sees a small slice of the electorate, “tech bros who are like, ‘oh, right, we should cut Social Security, we should shrink the federal government’,” who could possibly be converted by the right wing business mogul. Later in the show, Papadopoulos and Chafkin are joined by Bloomberg stocks reporter Esha Dey to discuss the latest gyrations of the world’s most prominent meme stock, Tesla. The trio discuss the challenges facing the electric car company and dissect a recent eyebrow-raising note from analyst Dan Ives. The prominent Tesla bull presents a simple answer to Tesla’s woes: give Elon more money.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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