Elon Musk’s self-destruction

[WASHINGTON, DC] When Elon Musk said he loved Donald Trump “as much as a straight man can love another”, the emetic effect was widespread. Trump is one of the few people left in Washington, DC, who likes having Musk around. Yet, having given Musk more power than any private figure in US history, the president is watching his benefactor turn into an albatross. The question is how Trump will get rid of Musk, not whether.

The price of having him as co-helmsman is already steep. The New York Times chronicled how Trump clipped Musk’s wings in a heated Cabinet meeting last week. Cabinet heads, rather than Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), would take care of their own hiring and firing, Trump said.

His White House had until then been notably leak-free – in contrast to his first term. But it appears senior staff are keen to see the back of the chainsaw-wielding oligarch. The showdown had been set up with the aim of hastening that day.