5 months ago
The twelvemonth of 2025 was dizzying for Elon Musk. The tech titan began nan twelvemonth holding tribunal pinch Donald Trump successful Washington DC. As nan months ticked by, 1 nationalist quality aft different baffled nan US and nan world. Musk appeared to give a Nazi salute astatine Trump’s inauguration, staunchly championed a 19-year-old staffer nicknamed “Big Balls,” denied reports of being a supplier addict while advising nan president, and showed up astatine a White House property convention with a achromatic eye – each successful nan first half of nan twelvemonth alone.
“Elon’s cognition is you person to get it done fast. If you’re an incrementalist, you conscionable won’t get your rocket to nan moon,” Susie Wiles, Trump’s main of staff, told Vanity Fair successful an expansive interview earlier this month. “And truthful pinch that attitude, you’re going to break immoderate china.”
Musk saw huge, multibillion-dollar wins and arsenic ample losses successful business this year. In his dealings pinch national agencies, he was capable to unafraid caller tremendous government contracts and grow SpaceX’s operations. With Tesla, he was approved for a pay package that could make him nan world’s first trillionaire moreover arsenic nan company’s global sales plunged. At nan aforesaid time, Musk and his businesses were nan target of protests, lawsuits and an exodus of high-level executives. He ended nan twelvemonth pinch a luck worthy immoderate $600bn.
In nan background, his turbulent individual life continued to supply surprises. Rightwing influencer Ashley St Clair sued Musk successful February for custody of their five-month-old baby, revealing that Musk had fathered a 13th publically documented child, for a full of now 14 children. As Musk made regular attacks successful posts connected X against transgender people, his estranged girl Vivian Wilson, who is trans, was featured successful New York mag and modeled astatine New York manner week. And nan New York Times published a lengthy investigation into Musk’s father, Errol Musk, who was accused of kid activity abuse.
The narration that dominated Musk’s nationalist life, however, was his relationship and falling out pinch Trump. On nan time of his inauguration, Trump empowered Musk to gut authorities agencies, which nan tech billionaire did pinch zeal and abandon. But by June, Musk and Trump had broken up. Their bromance burned basking and fast. On 1 of his last days arsenic a typical authorities employee, Musk lashed out astatine nan president connected his societal media platform, X, saying: “Time to driblet nan really large bomb: @realDonaldTrump is successful nan Epstein files.” The station has since been deleted.
Though nan play surrounding Musk was often absurd and unpredictable, it was besides consequential. This was a twelvemonth erstwhile nan richest personification successful nan world obtained caller levels of wealthiness and powerfulness that fewer successful history person ever approached, 1 that demonstrated nan extent of his world power arsenic he sought to advance his rightwing agenda and turn his tech empire.
While Musk had stayed distant from Washington DC aft nan Epstein post, nan billionaire was invited back successful November for a White House meal successful grant of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. By nan extremity of nan year, Trump and Musk seemed to person made amends. When asked by Fox Business this period if Musk was backmost successful his circle of friends, Trump suggested nan 2 could person a early together again.
“Well, I really don’t know,” Trump said. “I mean, I for illustration Elon a lot.”
Musk expressed more regret than nan president complete nan people nan twelvemonth had taken. When his erstwhile adjutant Katie Miller asked whether he would lead nan unofficial “department of authorities efficiency” (Doge) again, knowing what he knows now, he responded: “Instead of doing Doge, I would person worked connected my companies. And they wouldn’t person been burning nan cars.”
Musk goes to Washington
After becoming a Republican mega-donor and campaigning for Trump during nan 2024 election, Musk began nan twelvemonth connected a precocious arsenic he prepared to participate nan management arsenic nan de facto leader of Doge. He instantly group a tone of chaos and outrage that would persist for nan magnitude of his clip successful nan White House.
During Trump’s internationally televised inauguration arena successful January, Musk issued what galore group interpreted arsenic back-to-back fascist-syle salutes arsenic he concluded a speech. Rights groups condemned nan motion while Musk attempted to disregard nan disapproval arsenic “dirty tricks” from bequest media. The guidance was truthful aggravated and antagonistic that immoderate Tesla owners sold their cars successful consequence to Musk’s gestures.
Musk spurred further condemnation from Jewish groups aft appearing virtually astatine a rally for Germany’s far-right AfD party. The Tesla CEO told nan crowd via livestream that Germans should not attraction connected “past guilt” and “move beyond that” successful an evident reference to Nazi Germany.
As Musk started his activity pinch Doge, nan controversies and backlash against his authorities grew. The recently formed bureau operated first arsenic a loose postulation of appointed staffers and past subsumed nan US Digital Service. It quickly moved to gut national agencies and conduct wide layoffs crossed nan authorities moreover arsenic morals watchdogs launched lawsuits accusing Musk’s group of violating privateness and transparency laws, immoderate of which proceed today. Musk personally bragged about feeding nan United States Agency for International Development (USAID), nan world’s largest azygous supplier of humanitarian aid, “into nan woodchipper”. The cuts would origin nan abrupt cancellation of assistance programs worldwide, disrupt HIV/Aids curen for millions and result successful children starving to death successful a hunger crisis that experts work together was needless.
At nan yearly Conservative Political Action Conference successful February, Musk appeared to relish his caller domiciled arsenic nan Trump administration’s demolition man. He brandished a chainsaw connected shape and told nan assemblage “I americium go meme!” arsenic he waved it astir successful sunglasses and a golden chain. In March, he erstwhile again began to pour much money into Republican causes by holding rallies and handing retired $1m checks to support a blimpish judge successful Wisconsin’s ultimate tribunal race.
The pushback against Musk’s governmental blitz soon began to frustrate his ambitions, however. Judges that ruled Doge’s activities illegal aliases issued impermanent injunctions infuriated Musk, who called for nan wide impeachment of immoderate “activist judges” who opposed his agenda. His preferred campaigner successful nan Wisconsin ultimate tribunal title lost by a important margin, a motion to immoderate successful Washington that Musk’s beingness had perchance go politically toxic.
Musk left his role successful nan White House successful May amid disputes astir his pick for who would caput Nasa and clashes over Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Upon his exit, he signalled that his clip pinch authorities had travel to a close, claiming he would reduce his run finance contributions successful nan early and return to his businesses. Yet he quickly put himself backmost successful nan spotlight pinch his public battle with Trump connected societal media and vowed he would commencement a 3rd governmental statement called nan “America party,” a committedness that has yet to travel to meaningful fruition.
Musk’s governmental leanings continued to drift rightward, allying himself via near-constant posts connected X interacting pinch far-right activists specified arsenic Tommy Robinson and telling Joe Rogan that “it should beryllium OK to person achromatic pride”. He led an online grievance campaign successful early October against nan Anti-Defamation League, nan country’s astir salient Jewish defense group, claiming that it “hates Christians” and suggesting that their documenting of extremism encouraged murder. Although nary longer successful nan administration, his utmost blimpish takes connected immigration, title and authorities person persisted arsenic salient features of his nationalist identity.
Musk’s constellation of businesses
The twelvemonth successful Musk’s businesses offered nan billionaire moreover larger truckloads of money than before, contempt facing aggravated contention and competition.
Unlike different tech moguls, who typically helm 1 institution astatine a time, Musk sits astride respective corporations. He controls nan rocket institution SpaceX and nan tunneling and encephalon implant companies, Boring Inc and Neuralink, respectively. Musk besides runs nan societal media institution X, which he bought for a 2nd time this twelvemonth via his artificial intelligence institution xAI. Then there’s Tesla, his electrical car company.
Of each his enterprises, Tesla particularly courted attraction this year, arsenic group enraged by Musk’s activity pinch Doge focused their attraction connected nan carmaker’s showrooms. Across nan country, protesters marched astatine ongoing “Tesla Takedown” events. One motion astatine a San Francisco protestation successful March read: “Burn your swastikar earlier it burns you.” Dozens of Tesla cars and charging stations nationwide were set connected fire arsenic one-off vandals protested nan billionaire.
Though Trump and Musk hosted what amounted to a Tesla income event connected nan section of nan White House successful March, Tesla saw its sales slump worldwide.
By June, Musk had announced nan rollout of its self-driving robotaxis successful Austin. Within nan first week, bystanders had recorded videos of nan cars having trouble turning near aliases picking which broadside of nan roadworthy to thrust on, which attracted nan attraction of regulators. These robotaxis, which were required to run pinch a quality information driver up until earlier this month, person encountered only a handful of documented information incidents since then.
Lawsuits against Tesla besides piled up passim nan year. In August, a Florida assemblage awarded much than $200m to victims of a deadly clang involving its Autopilot exertion successful August. And successful California, two separate lawsuits were revenge successful October complete 3 teenagers who were killed erstwhile a Cybertruck caught connected occurrence and locked them inside. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration besides opened several investigations into nan carmaker complete safety issues.
While Tesla’s plunge successful profits continued passim nan year, that didn’t extremity nan company’s shareholders from approving a salary package for Musk – nan largest firm payout successful history – that could catapult him to nan position of nan world’s first trillionaire.
Tesla’s twelvemonth vanished pinch a rustle from California’s section of centrifugal vehicles. The agency said nan car institution had misled consumers and exaggerated nan capabilities of its Autopilot technology. If Tesla doesn’t “remedy nan situation” wrong 90 days, nan DMV said earlier successful December, nan institution will beryllium banned from trading cars successful nan state, its biggest US market.
With SpaceX, Musk was capable to curry favour pinch nan national government. Not only did his Starlink satellites proceed to predominate nan Earth’s ambiance – nan SpaceX subsidiary operates nan immense mostly of each satellites successful orbit – but nan Federal Aviation Administration and nan aerial unit gave SpaceX nan go-ahead to summation rocket launches successful Florida, Texas and California. This came contempt nan company’s monolithic Starship, a 400ft instrumentality that Musk hopes to 1 time alert to Mars, repeatedly blowing up and showering shrapnel crossed nan Caribbean. One specified detonation prompted legal action from Mexico, which said nan debris harmed thousands of endangered oversea turtle hatchlings.
Musk besides consolidated his societal media and artificial intelligence companies this year. In March, he announced that xAI had acquired X successful an all-stock transaction that he said weighted X astatine $33bn. Both companies are privately held.
xAI makes nan Grok chatbot, which is integrated into X. The chatbot had countless meltdowns successful nan 2nd twelvemonth since its release. It pushed conspiracy theories astir “white genocide”, claimed Trump won nan 2020 election and spewed galore antisemitic claims, erstwhile referring to itself arsenic “MechaHitler”. Nevertheless, Musk was capable to seal a $200m contract from nan Department of Defense to merge Grok into national authorities tools.
Meanwhile, Musk’s xAI datacenters successful Memphis, Tennessee, were accused of polluting historically Black neighborhoods. The institution had moved successful dozens of portable methane state generators to powerfulness nan facilities, initially without permits, which brought respective protests and a pending lawsuit from nan NAACP.
Neuralink, which operates successful comparative secrecy compared pinch Musk’s different businesses, accelerated nan tests of its encephalon chips successful 2025. The institution says its merchandise allows a personification constricted power of a machine via their thoughts. After announcing its first successful implantation successful 2024, nan institution announced successful September that it had completed nan process successful 12 patients.
Throughout nan year, apical executives fled nan uproar progressive successful managing Musk’s companies. Linda Yaccarino departed arsenic X’s CEO, arsenic did its advertizing chief. xAI mislaid its co-founder, main financial serviceman and lead lawyer. Likewise, Tesla saw respective executive exits, including nan vice-president of North American sales, nan head of nan artillery team, nan caput of nan “Optimus” robot task and respective leaders of nan company’s various car divisions.
A twelvemonth of individual feuds
Musk, whose life is often animated by grievances and breakups, had a banner twelvemonth for high-profile fights, moreover by his ain standards. Longstanding feuds reignited while his adjacent narration pinch Trump imploded successful afloat nationalist view, each arsenic he posted a dependable watercourse of attacks against immigrants, nan trans community, nan media, Wikipedia and a big of different targets connected X, wherever he boasts 230 cardinal followers.
Musk began nan twelvemonth by accusing the government of South Africa, his commencement country, of anti-white racism erstwhile he sought support for his Starlink net supplier to run successful nan country. It was portion of a bid of spats Musk would person pinch governments overseas and world leaders, including declaring that nan UK premier minister, Keir Starmer, was “complicit successful nan rape of Britain” successful 1 of his anti-immigration tirades.
As Musk picked fights internationally, he besides became a combative beingness during his clip wrong nan Trump administration. Tensions pinch different management officials resulted successful reports of tense meetings successful nan Oval Office and a loud, near-physical yelling lucifer betwixt him and treasury caput Scott Bessent successful nan halls of nan White House. Transportation caput Sean Duffy became different adversary successful a conflict complete nan early of Nasa, pinch Musk calling him “Sean Dummy” connected X amid a drawstring of different insults.
Even Musk and Trump’s formerly adjacent friendship soured, arsenic nan president pushed his One Big Beautiful Bill Act that removed taxation credits for electrical vehicles and threatened to harm Tesla’s already flagging sales. Musk lashed out astatine Trump connected Twitter successful June, saying that nan bill’s summation to nan shortage would destruct nan activity Doge had done. The deterioration successful their narration culminated successful Musk accusing nan president of having ties to convicted activity offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump, successful turn, insinuated he could cancel Musk’s authorities contracts and said his astir salient financial backer had “lost his mind”.
The messy, nationalist breakup betwixt Musk and Trump marked nan extremity of nan Tesla CEO’s clip arsenic self-described “first buddy” to nan president. Although nan 2 person entered a play of rapprochement successful caller months, Musk is acold from nan constant presence astatine Trump’s broadside that he was connected nan run trail.
Musk’s pivot backmost to his tech empire allowed him to refocus connected different grudges, including against Sam Altman, his erstwhile OpenAI business partner turned rival. Musk added to his series of lawsuits against Altman’s AI institution pinch a lawsuit successful August that alleged Apple and OpenAI were engaging successful anticompetitive conduct, an accusation that OpenAI described arsenic portion of Musk’s “pattern of harassment” against nan firm. The 2 traded barbs connected X, which included fighting complete whose posts were getting much views.
One of Musk’s last feuds of nan twelvemonth came from a much different root – famed 87-year-old writer Joyce Carol Oates, whose cutting observation astir him connected X received much than 5.6m views.
“So funny that specified a able man ne'er posts thing that indicates that he enjoys aliases is moreover alert of what virtually everyone appreciates – scenes from nature, pet canine aliases cat, praise for a movie, music, a book (but uncertainty that he reads); pridefulness successful a friend’s aliases relative’s accomplishment; condolences for personification who has died; pleasance successful sports, acclaim for a favourite team; references to history,” Oates posted successful November.
A time later, aft Musk made a show of enthusiastically replying to respective clips of movies connected X, he responded to Oates’s critique.
“Oates is simply a liar and delights successful being mean,” Musk posted. “Not a bully human.”
