Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made a permanent mark on the U.S. government, wielding his DOGE chain saw to slash federal agencies and their workforces at the behest of the Trump administration. But the wealthiest man in the world has signaled he intends to step back from politics following a prominent loss in a state-level judge race and growing discontent among his company’s consumers. In the latest episode of Pivot, co-hosts Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway discuss Musk’s reported departure from the political realm and how likely it is that he’ll stick to his word.

Twice weekly, Scott Galloway and Kara Swisher host Pivot, a New York Magazine podcast about business, technology, and politics.

Kara Swisher: Elon Musk says he plans to significantly reduce his political spending moving forward, saying in an interview with Bloomberg at the Qatar Economic Forum, “I think I’ve done enough.” I think we all think that. This after he poured over $290 million into the 2024 election to support Trump and Republicans. He also spent roughly $25 million on that Wisconsin Supreme Court race, where he, like, shit the bed. The cheesehead hat, the whole thing. Things got a little testy in that same interview when he was asked about DOGE saving less than originally promised. The whole thing was frigging testy. What a little baby, what a little wussy baby he is. Okay, let’s listen.

Speaker 1: What happened to the $2 trillion? 

Elon Musk: What, do you expect it to happen immediately? 

Speaker 1: Well, is it going to happen because DOGE is supposed to run until next July?


Musk: Your question is absurd in its fundamental premise. Are you assuming that within a few months, an instant $2 trillion saved? 

Speaker 1: No, I’m not at all. I’m just asking you, is that still your aim, then? Is it still your aim to get to 2 trillion? 

Musk: Have we not made good progress given the amount of time? Have we not made good progress given the amount of time? 

Speaker 1: That’s exactly what I’m asking. So is it still your aim to go from $170 billion to $2 trillion? 

Musk: The ability of DOGE to operate is a function of whether the government, and this includes the Congress, is willing to take our advice. We’re not the dictators of the government. We are the advisers. 

Swisher: This is such horseshit. He closed down a ton of stuff. He didn’t do well. Just like the Cybertruck, this was a flop so far. He ran through all the government, cutting things, closing things, firing things. He had plenty of power. He had the president of the United States behind him, so he was running rampant. He did stupid things like the chain-saw thing. He pushed around and now there’s story after story coming in about what a fucking nuisance he was to these people. Ran over Congress, ran over Cabinet members, did stupid things, made idiotic mistakes. He’s not getting to $2 trillion. And the entire interview was just ridiculous, saying, “Tesla’s doing great.” It’s just such horseshit.

I’m sure he’s cost the U.S. taxpayer money, but he got his. He got his regulatory relief. He’s going to probably........

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