Trump-Musk debate hits Tesla/$152 billion burned in four hours

2025-06-06 13:22:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

It lasted almost a year. It was June 13, 2024 when, minutes after Trump was hit by a bullet on the Butler stage, Elon Musk, the world's most brilliant entrepreneur, as well as the world's richest, announced on X his "full support" for the Republican candidate, in the name of fighting progressive wok-ism and defending freedom and dignity.

Not just words: he would donate the sum of $250 million, his valuable time, and his very precious image to the Maga campaign, contributing decisively to the result.

One year minus eight days later, here is the separation that many – it must be said – had predicted.

But worse than any prediction, given the amount of low blows and mutual threats concentrated in one afternoon, including Trump's threat to cut off any contracts or subsidies (about 3 billion) that Musk's companies enjoyed.

Reliable? For the markets, yes: in one session Tesla – Elon's only listed property – lost 13% and $150 billion in capitalization.

To think that in this impossible and unrepeatable "cloudiness" of ego, power, and ideology, in this parable that could not be more dizzying, there was a moment in which those 250 million seemed like the best investment Musk had ever made.

And he has made excellent investments. Let's judge by Tesla's capitalization: if on June 13 it was worth 567 billion, after Trump's victory it had grown to over 1,400, an all-time record.

It was the moment when, as on the cover of Time, it was thought that the real leader in the White House was Elon, far beyond Doge.

And that from there he would govern all the strategic files for his futuristic project: social media, artificial intelligence, electric cars, space, relations with China.

But that was late in the year, before Trump returned to the White House. And he drafted a series of policies all or almost all at odds with his friend's interests, starting with the tariff storm.

His gesture of buying a Tesla didn't help much, considering that the whole world began boycotting them, in protest against the political turn of the founder, who had become the flag bearer of the sovereign international.

Meanwhile, Musk was embarrassed to see his sworn algorithm rival, Sam Altman, enter the Oval Office to announce his mega data center.

By traveling with the president, it is true that Musk guaranteed his Starlink several satellite contracts, but in other countries (see Italy) he turned it into an even more disruptive company.

Now, it must be said that these months have not been so disastrous for Elon. With the return of free insults on social media, for example, his platform X has recovered many advertisers and returned to the value at which he bought it.

His artificial intelligence has made progress, it is now worth more than 100 billion,

SpaceX over 350. Tesla is still capitalizing more than it was on June 13th and Musk's personal fortune is close to 400 billion.

But the stellar premises, the idea of ??leading the agenda of the future, have not materialized.

And so, a few failed rockets and some poor sales figures had suggested Elon return to his profitable, full-time life in business.

It seemed to have closed well, with words of mutual respect. But everything has been destroyed and now the suspicion is that the investment in Trump could turn into a long-term loss if the president of the United States declares war on him.

Musk doesn't seem afraid, he on the other hand promises political revenge, perhaps even to regain his virginity.

His man in Rome, Andrea Stroppa, comments with a tearful smile: "Exciting time!"