Elon Musk...man of mystery

One question I keep asking yet find no satisfying answer to: "What's in it for Elon?"

The guy is obviously intelligent and has done well in business; why then the political 180 and why embrace MAGA?

Yes, I know...he's at heart an unrepentant Boer from South Africa, with all the baggage that entails, but he was pretty quiet til this election cycle, then it's like someone poured meth into his corn flakes.

Why is he so insistent on heading DOGE?

What's in it for him?

Clearly he has an end game in mind but I cannot see it.

Is he simply bored with being the richest on earth and now wants to be linked to the most powerful?

Quote: missedhervee

One question I keep asking yet find no satisfying answer to: "What's in it for Elon?"

The guy is obviously intelligent and has done well in business; why then the political 180 and why embrace MAGA?

Yes, I know...he's at heart an unrepentant Boer from South Africa, with all the baggage that entails, but he was pretty quiet til this election cycle, then it's like someone poured meth into his corn flakes.

Why is he so insistent on heading DOGE?

What's in it for him?

Clearly he has an end game in mind but I cannot see it.

Is he simply bored with being the richest on earth and now wants to be linked to the most powerful?

It may be as simple as him seeing the GROSS incompetence which is the Federal Government and wanting to do whatever he can to help. But on any level he’s a weird guy. Wants to father as many kids as he can. Wants to disrupt the status quo repeatedly (Tesla, Twitter, SpaceX, now DOGE).
I think his political self was molded more as a ‘I hate the Democrats’ but unfortunately now is more ‘I like Trump’.

Whether you like him or not, he’s ALWAYS at least interesting.

I respect him for his business success and in particular for Starlink and Space X but my god, he's a weird dude.

Quote: SOOPOO

It may be as simple as him seeing the GROSS incompetence which is the Federal Government and wanting to do whatever he can to help. But on any level he’s a weird guy. Wants to father as many kids as he can. Wants to disrupt the status quo repeatedly (Tesla, Twitter, SpaceX, now DOGE).
I think his political self was molded more as a ‘I hate the Democrats’ but unfortunately now is more ‘I like Trump’.

Whether you like him or not, he’s ALWAYS at least interesting.

I think you have it there for the most part. He probably aligned with Trump because Trump is the same way, not in it for the money, in it because he wants to do things better for the USA. This is what politics was supposed to be. Not people going to congress and ending up worth millions on a low six figure salary with a high COL in DC. Rather accomplished people using their experiences.

Think "Tombstone" where Virgil Earp decides he finally needs to step up. (The movie, not talking real life) Musk sees Trump enduring all kinds of attacks for wanting to drain the swamp and has said, "I need to help that guy!" I've done this for worthy bosses, I have had staff do it for me when I was the boss.

Musk was a hero to the left a year ago, shows what happens if you cross them.

Quote: missedhervee

Is he simply bored with being the richest on earth and now wants to be linked to the most powerful?

I am guessing that you hit it on the head with that one.

You can find plenty of interesting things about Musk that point in different directions. His brother said he was a “savant” in business, but has “no empathy for people.”

Then there’s this:

Quote:

Musk was such a strong supporter of Obama that he once stood in line for six hours to shake the former President’s hand. After Trump was elected, Musk agreed to serve on two presidential advisory councils—the Strategic and Policy Forum and the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative—but he lasted less than six months, resigning from both in June 2017 in protest of the Administration’s decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord

There’s another article, that he’s looking at Trump as a way to merge some super futuristic vision of Musk’s for America in his own image. Trump’s just a vehicle.

Quote: missedhervee

I respect him for his business success and in particular for Starlink and Space X but my god, he's a weird dude.

I would be very surprised if he does not have some sort of autism.

Quote: rxwine

You can find plenty of interesting things about Musk that point in different directions. His brother said he was a “savant” in business, but has “no empathy for people.”

Quote: DRich

I would be very surprised if he does not have some sort of autism.

It's called "Aspergers." When you are highly functioning this is how it is. A person with it needs to have a good #2 under him to relate to the people reporting to them or else be the #2 and be a superstar consigliare to the guy in charge.

But what specifically does he hope to accomplish (if anythng) that will help his business interests?

He knows Trump is not an EV lover ("Drill, baby, drill") so does he think he can run interference to save Tesla?

Having the president's ear will help him garner massive gov't contracts with Space X, so I can understand that.

One thing he and the oaf have in common is their lack of firm political conviction: both were democrats before switching sides.

Quote: missedhervee

But what specifically does he hope to accomplish (if anythng) that will help his business interests?

You could make 400,000 every day, day in and day out, since Jan 1, 0001 and still not have the money he has. So I doubt his "business interests" are his motivation.

Quote:

One thing he and the oaf have in common is their lack of firm political conviction: both were democrats before switching sides.

Trump never ran for anything as a Democrat, nor did Musk. They have a constant political conviction, it is just that the Democrat Party moved so far left and got so crazy that anyone of any intelligence left them. Reagan was a Democrat before running as a Republican. It is not something special.