Musk vs Trump

Opinion US politics & policy

The meeting of company builder and monarch was never going to end well

Michael Moritz

Elon Musk joins Donald Trump in the Oval Office last month. The Tesla chief failed to see that the president is more interested in the daily news cycle than in serious reform © Francis Chung/Bloomberg

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Michael Moritz

PublishedJun 8 2025

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The writer is a longtime Silicon Valley investor, former board member of PayPal and an investor in SpaceX

One man approaches government like a company. The other considers government his company. Anyone who has worked in Silicon Valley knows which to choose. For results, modern management beats medieval rule.

The eruption between Elon Musk and Donald Trump has reverberated around the world. It must be mortifying for those in Silicon Valley who threw their support behind the president thinking he would shrink the federal government. With Musk’s departure, any hope of a disciplined approach to the US government and budget goes as well. Musk is right; the Trump budget is an abomination.

I feel more than a tinge of sympathy for Musk. Unlike others, I don’t believe he threw himself into this battle for personal gain or to wangle deals for his companies. He, like many, was disenchanted with a Democratic party that had lost its moorings, mismanaged California and whose leader, Joe Biden, let vanity conquer virtue. Sadly, he misjudged the character of the man with whom he threw in his lot.

Musk knows what it takes to manage a sprawling empire with a minimum of waste. Despite his extracurricular activities, procreative fixation and splenetic outbursts, he is the most accomplished business builder of his generation. He single-handedly paved the path for the global electrification of automobiles and with SpaceX (and its offspring, Starlink) has put Nasa in the shade, while also promising to change the way we communicate.

But the government is not a company and Musk — although correct in his assessment of the overweening federal bureaucracy, the stifling regulatory climate and the precarious state of the US balance sheet — failed to understand that Trump was more interested in the daily news cycle than in reform. Musk is the revolutionary, the president the monarch.

Musk also underestimated the way in which Trump’s cabinet and advisers, and all the targets in his crosshairs, were determined to fight him. He was the outsider. They were the occupants of the swamp.

By comparison, Trump has none of Musk’s business acumen or his attention span. Since the inauguration, he has run the government just like he operated his own business, raising mountains of debt and betraying employees, while escaping unscathed himself.

While Musk launched a headlong assault on government, Trump has busied himself with high-minded duties such as the takeover of the Kennedy Center, attempting to fire the head of the National Portrait Gallery, renaming military bases and ships, hollowing out government libraries, planning his birthday parade and, most importantly, securing himself an aeroplane fit for a pasha.

What is the result of this meeting of company builder and medieval monarch? It’s the opposite of what was promised: a US budget that has ballooned, debt levels that will only rise and crushing interest payments that make the country vulnerable to its largest creditors — Japan and China.

Unfortunately, the minimal cuts that Doge did make — such as to foreign aid and Voice of America, have only served to weaken US standing around the world. And at home, thanks to Trump’s infatuation with tariffs, no business in America can plan beyond lunchtime.

Then there is the fusillade of Sharpie decrees that, left unchecked, will strengthen China and weaken Silicon Valley — contempt for scientific rigour, cutbacks in research and development funding, cancellation of university contracts, clampdowns on visas for the brightest overseas students. These were the pillars of Musk’s own monumental successes and amount to the hollowing out of America’s future.

While Musk has left Washington with his reputation tarnished and his businesses impaired, the president’s family has inked deals for new hotels and golf courses around the world. Membership fees at Mar-a-Lago, his Floridian sanctuary, ballooned last year. And he is milking the enthusiasm of his supporters with his own controversial memecoin, launched days before his inauguration.

One word of advice for those in Silicon Valley who followed Musk’s lead and sided with Trump. Leave. Don’t delude yourself that you are working to make crypto a part of global finance, minimising artificial intelligence regulation, helping start-up companies or protecting the interests of Silicon Valley. You have no sway. You are just cannon fodder.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025. All rights reserved.

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Any businessman that thinks Washington is anxious for his input doesn’t understand the contract. Their role is to provide money, nothing more. Musk is a different case because of the reputation he has built.

But when DOGE couldn’t get anywhere near the stated targets and Musk’s money failed to buy success in the Wisconsin Supreme Court case, his profile slumped in Washington..

Despite the efforts to paper over the DOGE shortfalls, they are massive and embarrassing given the expectations . The rule is under forecast and over deliver. The opposite rarely works

And much as one admires Musk’s business achievements attacking Trump in the way he did won’t serve him, his shareholders or the public in general.

Nyaaah Nyaaaah, Nyaaah....Typical.....Translation: Musk was a failure and all glory to Tramp. .

Just one thing, unlike your low life hero, none of Musk's companies have gone pot bellied up.......Trump's has....and then some.

Get that into your head.

Donald Trump can't name the crime he thinks Gavin Newsom should be arrested for

After Donald Trump told reporters earlier on Monday that he would support the arrest of California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, the president was asked a simple question: “What crime has Governor Newsom committed”?

“What crime has he committed?” Trump replied. “Uh. I think his primarily – primary crime is running for governor, because he’s done such a bad job”.

How would Trump have reacted if it was Biden who incited the shameful Jan 6 insurrection?

There were no shameful January 6 incident - if you do not realize it was all political propaganda lies tt was exposed as such by the official house investigation and the matter has has been investigated to find out what actually happeed and lies on waht aactually happenmed were spread.

What is much more dangerous and d undemining demcoracy is what the the voters has already identified and that is the treasonous conduct of the Democrats ever since 2016. If there were treasonous and shameful conduct is the constant riot inctement by the Democrat politicians

That is why polls indicate the support level of voters for the Democrats is below 30% - they know they have been fed shit by the media - but you still believe the shit. But then you come up with the same shit all the time instead of what really is h appenng in the vey dangerous world we live in.

Must admit that the shit spread by the ultra-leftist media and mostly consisting of lies are lapped up by idiots like you who have no idea about how it effected the world situation. Your refrain always is the same BS, Seems your brain has stopped functoning becuase repetitive BS is all that you come up with. I amused by the fact that you keep repearting the same BS all the time. I dio not thin it is worth discussiong anythin ou come up wth on site - becuse it is total discredited garbage.

Okay Hysteria, setting aside your childish taunts, exactly which part of my post was ‘all glory to Trump’. Explain how you reached that conclusion.

And don’t sneak away with your tail between your legs. Be a big girl and explain yourself.

Indications are that the media storm has blown over and all the exitement by the media and by site members have as per nrmal missed the target totally,

So the same idiots who claimed that Musk was the Presidnt and Trump was like Biden only a President in name has now got to find another story.

The fact is that the enmxt one is on the gay and the public in generl are rejecting the new media pandemic about the Los Angeles riots and the D emocrat stand on the issue is we are supporting the rioters a;; out and they can do as they plese as long as violence win thee battle for the Democrats.

An interesting question neds to be asked - why are the ultra-leftist so determined to destroy the Democatic Party from within?

Just watched Trump taking questions from the media on various topics for probably more than half an hour...how refreshing.

skoon verlore

Glad nie.

This is what a president does for his citizens, what a fantastic idea.

https://t.co/NdHpyAUuYb

(https://x.com/_johnnymaga/status/1932214065046368516?t=ST6gNF1JII2kn43nbzCdUw&s=03

Hopefully it works out to be a good and viable program

In any country, the more the citizens can get back, the better

The way I see how our tax funds are utilised in this country , makes me sick

Hysteria plays the coward again….what a pathetic creature.

Most of this board has already experienced it Moz, so no surprise to most on here

Yes, I was propping up an empty suit.

xcv