Musk’s Trump Feud Is Still Hurting His Empire

On this week’s episode of Elon, Inc., host Max Chafkin and Bloomberg News reporter Ed Ludlow discuss their cover story for the latest issue of Bloomberg Businessweek. Their reporting details the ways in which Elon Musk’s companies—specifically Tesla, SpaceX and xAI—are struggling in the wake of his feud with President Donald Trump. Chafkin and Ludlow break down where each of these companies stands now, and analyze how investors are rationalizing their continued investments in the multibillionaire’s sprawling endeavors. Then Bloomberg News technology editor Sarah Frier takes over the hosting chair to interview Wall Street Journal reporter Dana Mattioli about Musk’s many offspring, including his custody agreements and pro-natalist leanings. The conversation is the second in a summer series in which our Elon, Inc. panelists interview Musk reporters from outside Bloomberg about stories we wished we wrote first. Mattioli explains Musk’s stated desire to populate Mars and further populate Earth, how he’s using his social media platform to recruit mothers and why observers think it’s likely he has more than the 14 kids that are publicly known. She also digs into how Musk’s fixer Jared Birchall has interacted with the mothers of Musk’s children, including Ashley St. Clair, whose public child support battle with Musk shed light on Birchall’s tactics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.