Matthew Lynn

Government hasn’t been unprofitable for Elon Musk

Nobody wants to buy his cars anymore. He has been too distracted to pay any attention to his companies, and his fortune has been shredded. As Elon Musk brings his short spell in government to an official close today, and gets back to the day job, his many political opponents will take a malicious pleasure in noting that getting mixed up with President Trump has been a financial disaster for the billionaire. But hold on. As so often, their maths is more than a little wonky. In fact, public service has been very lucrative for Musk. 

He will leave the government richer than ever, and remains one of the most remarkable entrepreneurs of his generation

‘As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,’ the billionaire wrote on his social media platform X earlier today .

Britain’s best politics newsletters

You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Written by
Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a financial columnist and author of ‘Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis’ and ‘The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031’

Topics in this article

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in