South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk has realised that partnering with President Donald Trump was one of his worst business decisions.
By Guillermo Alvarado
It had been anticipated for weeks, and now it has finally been confirmed: South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk, who now lives in the United States, has realised that partnering with President Donald Trump was one of his worst business decisions.
The owner of major corporations such as the social media platform X, SpaceX and Tesla, Musk became the primary financial donor to Trump's controversial campaign to return to the White House.
Trump promised Musk a privileged position within his administration, appointing him as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Musk's main goal in this role was to drastically reduce the size of the public administration — essentially, the state — as dictated by classic neoliberal manuals, while simultaneously cutting federal expenditure as much as possible.
However, neither of them anticipated that two egos of such magnitude could not coexist, not even within the White House.
Upon realising that Trump was preparing a massive legislative project aimed at tax cuts and transferring billions of dollars to the wealthiest sector, the head of X expressed disappointment in his 'friend'.
In other words, while Musk was reducing costs at DOGE with one hand, Trump was poised to undo all of his efforts with both hands.
But that wasn’t the only issue. Since last November's elections, and especially after the new government took office, Musk has experienced significant losses in his businesses.
Tesla lost nearly $20 billion, and although SpaceX secured exorbitant government contracts, as with everything involving Trump, nothing is set in stone and could change at any moment.
Money, as everyone knows, does not recognize loyalty. When it came time to do the math, the world’s richest man realized that distancing himself from Washington was the more profitable move.
This was never about ideology or even ideas—it was about interests that, at one point, seemed aligned and capable of coexisting, but reality proved otherwise.
It’s not a dramatic separation, but today, something feels clearer and more open in the U.S. capital—perhaps the air is just a little, just a little, purer.
