Ілон Маск / Depositphotos
Elon Musk plans to put politics on the back burner. He made the announcement at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday, May 20.
«I think I’ve done enough,» Musk said during an interview with Bloomberg journalist Mishal Hussein.
As The Washington Post clarifies, Musk does not plan to abruptly or irreversibly stop political activity. When asked whether he plans to spend less on politics because of the negative consequences for his business empire, the billionaire replied:
«If I see a reason for political spending in the future, I will do it. At the moment, I see no reason».
Elon Musk’s political activity has been very high-profile, and his expenses have been enormous. He used to bombard the Internet almost daily with posts in X, spent a lot of money on political purposes, and still leads the scandalous DOGE department in the US government.
Musk spent at least $288 million on the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, as well as on the promotion of Republican candidates in the November elections. He took an active part in the April elections to the Wisconsin Supreme Court — and, according to the publication, made this race the most expensive judicial election in US history. But the Republican candidate lost. In the future, the party hoped for financial support from Musk in the midterm elections to the House of Representatives, but it seems that this will not happen.
As a result, Musk received high anti-rating in the society and a very controversial image that hit the business of his companies. Last month, Tesla reported a double-digit drop in shipments in the first quarter, followed by a staggering 71% drop in profits. In Qatar, Musk insisted that the situation «has already changed for the better»:
«There are also people who are buying it just because Elon is crazy, or however they perceive it. So yes, we lost some sales on the left, but we gained them on the right. Sales figures are strong at the moment and we don’t see any problems with demand».
Musk also traditionally blamed the failures on the «wrong» media in another interview with CNBC on the same day:
«Unfortunately, I have realized that the propaganda of outdated media is very effective in making people believe things that are not true».
Elon Musk confirmed to journalists in no uncertain terms that he intends to lead Tesla for the next five years. When asked if he had any doubts about this, he replied: «No, I would die».