Elon Musk’s highly publicized and arguably brand destructive tenure as President Donald Trump’s would-be hatchet man has supposedly drawn to a close. His foray into politics has resulted in tens of thousands of federal workers losing their jobs, the attempted shuttering or gutting of federal agencies (with grim consequences for the world’s poorest) and a growing pile of lawsuits challenging as illegal much of what he did. Add to that his failed bankrolling of a Wisconsin judicial candidate and growing global disdain for him personally, and it’s no wonder the South Africa-native would want to head back to the office.

In this episode of Elon, Inc. David Papadopoulos is joined by Max Chafkin and Sarah Frier to analyze just how damaged Musk really is and what his future ambitions might be. After cavorting around Washington and Mar-a-Lago for months, he appears to be rechristening himself as a businessman (instead of Daddy Warbucks of the far-right). Recent interviews with Bloomberg, CBS and the Washington Post certainly make it seem like he wants us to believe that. But on the other hand, his latest X post on the massive Republican spending bill might mean he’s not quite ready to leave the political spotlight. 

The crew also go through a number of Musk news items from last week, including successful fundraising, some confusing Grok deals that might not actually happen and an explosive report from The New York Times regarding his custody battles and alleged ketamine use. 

Finally, the trio tries to figure out the origin of that shiner Musk sported at Friday’s press conference in the Oval Office. He blamed his five-year-old son. Although the parents on the panel find that believable, they also go through a list of other suspects.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.