It’s edifying for liberals to see Elon Musk as a sort of madcap Icarus, flying higher and higher and into an inevitable crash and burn sequence.
Icarus’s folly (or arrogance) was to equate himself with the god of the sun, Helios, and to fly at a commensurate altitude with predictable consequences. The myth is typically read as a tale of self-sabotage brought on by unchecked ambition, but an alternative interpretation paints Icarus as a dreamer, beguiled by the sun (the ultimate source of all light) and striving against the odds, an interpretation that appeals to innovators.
Musk’s switch from political moderate (a term he once applied to himself) to far-right troll and propagandist is difficult to reconcile with his considerable achievements as an entrepreneur.
His Starlink satellite system, initially provided to Ukraine free of charge, replaced the country’s decimated communications system and has been crucial in fending off Russian aggression.
Earlier this month his SpaceX Dragon capsule splashed down off the coast of Florida after rescuing two Nasa astronauts stranded on the International Space Station for nine months.
And his Neuralink start-up has received FDA breakthrough device designation for Blindsight, an experimental implant aimed at restoring vision in individuals who have lost sight in both eyes.
But it is his amplification of various tropes and disinformation on X (formerly Twitter) combined with high-profile forays into UK and German politics on behalf of far-right parties that has zapped whatever goodwill he might have had previously, transforming him into a hate figure not only of the left but with moderates.
According to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, Musk posted 50 false election claims on X in the first eight months of last year.
Many Tesla shareholders would probably like Musk’s wings clipped rather than crushed to corral his focus back to more earthly matters like the company’s falling share price. But liberals are hoping for a more complete evisceration.
But if we play out the liberal wish dream of Musk collapsing under the weight of his erratic behaviour, what is the sun or sanctioning stick that will plunge him, Icarus-like, back into the sea? Tesla’s share price?
The electric car maker is the dominant thread in Musk’s sprawling tapestry of business interests and the main source of his personal wealth. The acceleration in the company’s share price in the wake of Trump’s election victory last year drove his net worth to a colossal $550 billion (€508bn).
But the stock has come crashing down since on the back of a near 50 per cent drop-off in European sales linked to a consumer boycott of Musk. The shares were trading as high as $480 in December but were under $260 last week, a slide that has wiped out up to $800 billon of Tesla’s market valuation.
[ What damage is Elon Musk doing to Tesla’s shares and sales?Opens in new window ]
The mitigating explanations – that weaker sales stemmed from the wait for a revised Model Y and/or greater competition from Chinese company BYD – can only explain so much, particularly when the EV market itself is growing.
Telsa has always had its sceptics, those who claim its perennially frothy valuation is at odds with the volume of cars it produces and the revenue it is likely to generate (a significant portion of its current revenue comes from selling emissions credits to rivals) but Musk, until now, has been able to face down his sceptics, convincing investors that Tesla is not just a car company but a revolution in transport stretching beyond mere car production.
It remains the most valuable car brand in the world, worth 10 times as much as the likes of General Motors, Volkswagen, or Ford despite making a fraction of the number of cars the others make.
But the current backlash is not an argument around valuations or future earnings or the company’s narrative but a more visceral rejection of Musk himself, something that won’t be easily reversed.
Or will Musk have his wings melted in the political arena? He has potentially big enemies among Trump’s own Maga clique – Steven Bannon, Trump’s former adviser, being perhaps the biggest. Bannon has called Musk a “parasitic illegal immigrant”.
The Maga movement has already clashed with Musk on visas for tech workers and believe he is redefining – in their eyes watering down – Trump’s immigration agenda. They’re waiting in the long grass for cracks in the Trump/Elon bromance.
But perhaps the more immediate political threat stems from his role as Trump’s cost-cutting tsar and head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge.
The latter is increasingly beset with legal obstacles, allegations of conflicts of interest and a backlash from federal workers and Democrats who see it as a “hostile takeover” of government.
Opponents believe Musk is breaking federal law to purge perceived ideological enemies from the civil service and in defiance of the courts.
While Doge’s aim of saving taxpayers’ money and reducing US national debt, which stands at a whopping $36 trillion, still appears to have a popular mandate, Musk’s slash and burn tactics is making him a target.
Where Musk’s political gambit ends is not obvious but he appears to have reached a dangerous point.
