"At the close of 2024, I wrote that Elon Musk's support of Donald Trump had made him the world's most powerful unelected man. In 2025, his reign turned out to be short-lived. He rose fast and haphazardly, like a whizzing firework, only to explode spectacularly in June when he claimed in a post on X that the president of the United States was named in the government's files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein."
"Even in that short period of less than six months, Musk made a tremendous impact. He tore up wide swaths of the US government tens of thousands of jobs, the security of extremely sensitive data, and entire agencies like USAID that may never be stitched back together. After Doge imploded, Musk promised to turn back to his business empire, which saw great success and great failures alike in 2025."
"His rocket company SpaceX saw continued growth and is poised to conduct an initial public offering next year, perhaps as the most valuable private company in the world. Electric carmaker Tesla, by contrast, faced violent backlash and major competition from its Chinese counterparts, which produced cheaper and more advanced vehicles while Tesla's innovation and inventory stagnated. These headwinds caused a global sales slum"
Elon Musk rose rapidly in early 2025 through high-profile political involvement and then suffered a spectacular collapse in June after claiming in a post on X that the US president appeared in government files on Jeffrey Epstein. His actions led to mass personnel changes across US government agencies, loss of sensitive data security, and disruption to agencies such as USAID. Musk shifted focus back to his companies: SpaceX continued growth and prepared for an initial public offering potentially making it the world's most valuable private company. Tesla faced intense competition from Chinese automakers, a backlash, stagnating innovation and inventory problems that caused a global sales slump. Broader tech trends included AI's pervasive economic impact, an Australian social media ban, and rising Trumpian politics within the industry.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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