Elon Musk done with DOGE - spending billions to influence midterm elections - Elon Musk Podcast
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Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the Elon Musk podcast. I'm thrilled to share some exciting news with you. Over the next two weeks, we're evolving. We'll be broadening our focus to cover all the tech titans shaping our world. You'll still get the latest insights on Elon Musk, plus so much more. So stay tuned for our official relaunch coming soon. Now let's get into this episode.

So Elon Musk is stepping away from his official role inside the Trump administration, but not from political influence altogether. With his tenure at the Department of Government Efficiency winding down, Elon Musk plans to use his wealth and his Platform X to shape the 2026 midterm elections. Instead of working inside the government, he aims to fund Republican candidates and

and drive national conversations from the outside. Now, Musk's official exit is timed to the 130-day legal limit on special government employees. But people close to him say it's also personal. They describe Musk as exhausted from constant attacks on his companies and ready to protect his brand by spending less time in Washington.

Instead of being a lightning rod inside the government, Musk intends to become a financial powerhouse outside of it.

During his year at Doge, Musk pursued deep budget cuts, gaining a reputation for showmanship and disruption. He famously waved a chainsaw at a conservative conference, pledging to hack away at bureaucracy. And official claims credit Doge with $160 billion in taxpayer savings, but many independent reviewers point out errors, double counts, and inflated figures. Now, Musk's aggressive tactics eventually wore thin inside the administration.

Cabinet secretaries who initially supported him became more resistant. And by March, Trump reminded agency heads that they had final authority over personal decisions, subtly limiting Musk's reach without ending his influence.

Frustrations also spilled into public fights. Musk clashed with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and Treasury Secretary Scott Besant. He called Trump's trade advisor Peter Navarro a moron in private meetings. Despite tensions, though, Musk remained a favorite of Trump, who admired his willingness to take bold tasks and make them easy. Now, outside the White House, Musk's political activities hurt

hurt Tesla's reputation, his embrace of far-right politics fueled protests, boycotts, and vandalism of Tesla dealerships. And a recent poll found Musk's unfavorable rating had climbed to 58% compared to the mid-30s just about two years ago.

In an effort to counteract the damage, Musk sought Trump's public support. And after a weekend meeting at Mar-a-Lago, Trump showcased a red Tesla Model S on the White House lawn, calling it a symbol of American innovation. Conservative media figures quickly echoed the message. But controversy continued to trail Elon Musk.

He also made a risky political bet in Wisconsin's high-profile Supreme Court election. He and allied groups spent around $21 million on conservative candidate Brad Schimel. And liberal candidate Susan Crawford won by 10 points, exposing how Musk's high-profile involvement sometimes mobilizes opponents more than the supporters. Now, since the Wisconsin defeat, though, Musk has retreated from political showmanship. He now posts more about technology and space than about politics.

At the same time, his allies remain embedded inside the government. Continuing the cost-cutting initiatives, Musk started with Doge. Now, despite failing to hit the trillion-dollar savings goals, Musk's imprint on Washington is clear.

He forced agencies to rethink spending and personnel, even if the long-term results remain uncertain. His methods created strain inside major agencies, including the Social Security Administration and Veteran Affairs. And he put people out of work. Hardworking Americans that need that money to survive, he fired them with no recourse.

A lot of them are taking him and the federal government to task on this and their lawsuits that are piling up. Now he rushed cuts and it caused real service disruptions and these people are going to fight back.

Now, Musk's next chapter will not play out behind a government desk, though. Instead, he'll use his money and media empire to try to reshape American politics once again, but from the outside, believing that dollars and influence can move the country faster than federal job titles ever could.

So remember people vote for the person that you like, do not vote for the drama. A Musk is stepping out of the white house, but he's stepping even deeper now into the political arena.

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