Episodes

  • Elon Did It
    Nov 6 2024

    Mere hours after Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election, Elon, Inc. headed to the studio to do some processing. Max Chafkin and Dana Hull discuss how much credit Musk can take, how he spent election day and night and what’s next for America as Musk seems poised to occupy an important role in shaping Trump’s second term.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    19 mins
  • The Stakes are Sky High for Elon Musk
    Nov 5 2024

    Consider this your Elon Musk-election night buffet: the Elon, Inc. crew, headed by host David Papadopoulos, discuss what’s at stake for Musk and what’s transpired over the last week of this seemingly endless US presidential campaign.

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    29 mins
  • Listen Now: US Election Coverage on Bloomberg Podcasts
    Nov 4 2024

    Be in the know this election with Bloomberg Podcasts. Follow Bloomberg News Now for up-to-the minute election results, all night long. And go deeper with The Big Take podcast, featuring in-depth global analysis of the US election every day this week.

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    1 min
  • Citizen Elon, Episode 2: Doomscaping
    Nov 1 2024

    Elon Musk announced his support for Donald Trump on July 13, minutes after the attempt on Trump’s life at a rally in Pennsylvania. Since then, the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX has been engaged in what amounts to one of the all-time largest political spending sprees. That’s not even counting what many have called the biggest in-kind political gift in history: Musk’s social media platform, X. In this second episode of Citizen Elon, we explore what Musk stands to gain, how he's wielding his newfound political power and what is even possible when the world's richest man unites with Trump

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    25 mins
  • Musk Takes a Victory Lap at Trump Rally, Tesla Stock Surges
    Oct 29 2024

    This has been a huge week for Elon Musk: First, the Tesla stock rally, in reaction to a good earnings report, made him billions of dollars richer (at least on paper). Then, Musk continued his full-throated campaign for Donald Trump with a marquee appearance at Madison Square Garden, leading chants of “USA!” to adoring fans amid a rally that featured the most racially inflammatory language yet of the Republican’s campaign.

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    29 mins
  • Citizen Elon, Episode 1: Flipping the Table
    Oct 25 2024

    Donald Trump and Elon Musk occupied two entirely different worlds. Until they didn’t. In this episode, we learn how their paths as public figures — often informed and provoked by personal grievances — brought them together. Which snubs, perceived or not, prompted Musk to dip his toes in the politics pool? We hear from misinformation scholars, right wing media experts, Bloomberg journalists, and people who have worked closely with Musk—close enough to discuss what he and Trump might have in common, and where they diverge.

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    24 mins
  • What to Make of Elon's $1 Million Giveaway
    Oct 22 2024

    Elon Musk has made more headlines than usual as he travels all over Pennsylvania, working to help Donald Trump win the state in the Nov. 5 presidential election. As usual, the right-wing billionaire (Musk in this case) has been doing things his way, behaving like Trump by pushing traditional boundaries for campaigning, while also potentially violating election laws. Musk’s latest gambit, to offer swing state residents the chance at winning a $1 million if they sign a petition promising they’ll support the First and Second Amendments (which, for the record, became law several hundred years ago) has a caught the eye of Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro (to qualify, one has to register to vote).

    Shapiro has said that law enforcement should look at this practice, which has been criticized as yet another way to manipulate the election. On this week’s episode of Elon, Inc, host David Papadopoulos and Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer Max Chafkin discuss Musk’s latest political exploit in the Keystone State.

    But we also take a step back. How on Earth did we end up in this situation? What does it mean that the world’s richest person has been united with Trump, a twice-impeached, convicted felon who is the subject of multiple felony prosecutions? In the three part limited series Citizen Elon—hosted by Chafkin—we’ll explore how Musk’s politics have (and have not) changed over time; what the mercurial chief executive of a huge social network can do to tilt the political information war; how money (dark and light) provides the infrastructure for the 2024 presidential race; and finally, what’s at stake for Musk himself in this unprecedented dive headfirst into the political sphere. In today’s episode we run an excerpt from the first episode, “Flipping the Table.”

    Citizen Elon will publish in the Elon, Inc. feed on Fridays, but Bloomberg.com subscribers get every episode early. Subscribe today at Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer, and follow Elon, Inc. on Apple Podcasts or wherever you like to listen.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    28 mins
  • Introducing: Citizen Elon
    Oct 22 2024

    Over the course of one weekend in July, the presidential election was turned on its head. This is when news organizations announced that Elon Musk was backing Donald Trump—and gave a real endorsement, something he said he’d never do. What does it mean that the world’s richest man has been united with not just any presidential candidate, but Trump? In this three-part series from Elon, Inc., we will explore how Musk’s politics have (and haven’t) changed over time; what the mercurial CEO of a huge social network can do to tilt the information war in presidential politics; how money, dark and light, provides the infrastructure for the 2024 presidential race; and finally, what is at stake for Musk himself in this unprecedented dive headfirst into the political sphere.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    2 mins