r/politics The Netherlands Mar 06 '25

Soft Paywall Elon Musk Suddenly Doesn’t Want Credit for Disastrous DOGE Cuts - Musk is warning Republicans to stop blaming DOGE for the cuts.

https://newrepublic.com/post/192415/elon-musk-warns-republicans-doge-job-cuts
59.4k Upvotes

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9.5k

u/insuproble Mar 06 '25

WHY would they stop blaming the evil asshole who is doing the disastrous cuts?

3.1k

u/FormerUsenetUser Mar 06 '25

Musk probably got a couple hate tweets or something.

5.2k

u/Stingray88 Mar 06 '25

He’s personally lost like $90B in the last few weeks.

I hope we can triple that number.

3.8k

u/GR1ZZLYBEARZ Mar 06 '25 edited Mar 06 '25

1.4k

u/jacenat Mar 06 '25

Remember that he spent ~220 million to win PY for Trump. He lost almost 1000x that in stock values since he started this DOGE idiocy. People keep saying "midterms will wipe the republicans" and "Trump can't run a 3rd time". These billionaires got very deep pockets, and they are not afraid to use it to ruin a country.

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u/GR1ZZLYBEARZ Mar 06 '25

Also spent 40b on twitter, he’s trying to recoup from banks by selling his debt. Some investment firms who put up money for him are already on the hook for $13B.

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u/999avatar999 Mar 06 '25

I'd argue that the 40bil for twitter was what got him the Election, not the 200mil in PA. Which also shows the disgusting amount of power social media oligarchs have over the whole world basically

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u/tattooz57 Mar 07 '25

That's the plan, an oligarchy. America kinda is already. Case in point, world's richest man running the govt.

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u/999avatar999 Mar 07 '25

Yeah Elon is the endpoint to it all, though I'll still die on the hill that Zuckerberg is just as much to blame, if not more. Heard countless time from sociologists and other analysts that the proliferation of social media over the last 20 years or so, spearhead by Facebook now Meta, is what got us to where we are. The resulting social alienation and dopamine thirst is what causes people to vote for extremists in the whole developed world

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u/GR1ZZLYBEARZ Mar 06 '25

All major media forms are owned by the elite. Bezos - Washington Post, Zuckerberg - FB/Insta, John Henry - The Boston Globe, Glen Taylor - The Minnesota Star Tribune, Patrick Soon-Shiong - Los Angeles Times, Elon Musk - X Corp, and of course the conservative conglomerates of the Murdochs and satans son George Soros.

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u/999avatar999 Mar 06 '25

Yeah for sure, but I'd argue that the tech oligarch class, be it Musk, Zuck, Bezos, Pichai or whoever else, are way more dangerous than the media owners. Sure, those have large power over the information environment, but the social media moguls have the power to shape the fabric of whole societies. The facebook files come to mind for example

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u/VaATC America Mar 07 '25

The old school media moguls did all of that as well and to great effect. Watching old news reels from the '80s is absolutely crazy. The technology has advanced to the point that those that consume traditional media Jake aged out of the tech adoption curve and are no longer evolving with the tech, so the power and influence of the old media sources is tending to wain in the face of social media. Social media is doing the same things, in pretty much all the same ways, but it has been scaled up to be able to provide for the massive population that consumes information via the new technological pathways.

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u/sauerkrauter2000 Mar 07 '25

If everyone globally who dislikes the new us fascist agenda was to stop using these platforms for a couple of months they would take a big financial hit.

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u/Termsandconditionsch 29d ago

George Soros? Come on. He’s got a net worth of less than $7B, nothing compared to Musk or Zuckerberg. He’s always in various conspiracy theories but from what I’ve seen…. Musk is everything that the nutters claimed Soros was. He’s probably done some shady stuff (aside from shorting the Bank of England) but not really on the same scale.

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u/adgrn Mar 07 '25

that's not how that works in any way. he put up a few billion himself, got his friends to put in some of the rest and the remainder was funded by banks. he probably also just got a loan for his cash portion with collateral pledged on his Tesla stock so probably didn't take out one cent from his pockets at all

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u/Ferelar New Jersey Mar 06 '25

It's also kind of naive to think that the guy who still has hundreds of billions of USD and access to a vast amount of power and information really cares. In fact, his money could disappear tomorrow and he'd still be in an incredibly powerful (and incredibly undeserved) position.

I think people are hoping that this will all self implode economically, politically, etc- which will take the pressure off of us everyday folks and let us continue engaging in some serious bystander syndrome "This is so crazy, someone should do something to stop him!" type stuff, when in reality, this tick is dug in, and only immediate drastic action will remove him. We need to organize. These malfeasants aren't going to just disappear, get bored, or get overruled by some higher power.

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u/GiraffesAndGin Mar 06 '25

It's also kind of naive to think that the guy who still has hundreds of billions of USD

He doesn't have hundreds of billions of USD. He isn't liquid. That's why buying Twitter became such a fiasco. He bragged about buying it at a certain price in cash, Twitter called his bluff, and Musk couldn't come up with the cash. He was trying to back out for months.

His money could disappear tomorrow and he would cease to exist in most everyone's eyes. The money is what gives him influence and prestige. Without it, he's just some drugged up right-winger without even a soap box to stand on. He's not a genius. He's not even modestly intelligent. He is the most textbook definition of a confidence man I've ever seen.

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u/AQKhan786 Mar 06 '25

He is the most textbook definition of a confidence man I've ever seen.

I take it you’ve not heard of one Donald John Trump?

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u/GiraffesAndGin Mar 06 '25

Ha, fair point. I guess I lean into Musk being a better example because he has become the richest man in the world while doing it, and I would even argue he's basically welding the power of the president as well. He has conned the con man.

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u/George_the_poinsetta Mar 07 '25

Or he has been conned by Peter Thiel to take the fall for the oligarchy..

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u/Questknight03 Mar 07 '25

This is very true. All of his loans are leveraged against Telsa stock. If Telsa goes down so does he.

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u/burlycabin Washington Mar 06 '25

In fact, his money could disappear tomorrow and he'd still be in an incredibly powerful (and incredibly undeserved) position.

This isn't true. Musk is only influential because of his money at this point. If he lost it all, the real people in charge wouldn't give him the time of day. His influence is fully bought and contingent upon his continued support.

(That said, he's so fucking wealthy, his money isn't going to disappear)

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u/Hurtzdonut13 Mar 07 '25

I think it's clear that Elon is extremely thin skinned and very much cares. I mean, he fired the twitter guys that managed the algo and had them crank it where his tweets would always appear for everyone and always show up. He fakes being good at things and gets extremely bent out of shape when exposed that he's a fraud. He lashes out at anyone that doesn't bow to him and declare him a genius.

The problem is that his extreme wealth means he gets to inflict his malignant narcissism on everyone else and there are no consequences for him for his actions no matter how vile.

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u/No-Highway-4833 Mar 06 '25

What would organizing look like? I mean aside from calling state reps/doing protests, what can we do that’s actually going to make a concrete difference? It feels like democratic leadership holed themselves up and we’re just left to fend for ourselves

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u/Bram560 Mar 06 '25

In another year you guys are going to be into another election cycle. Vote every fucking GOP asshole you can out of office. In the meantime, get you Democrats to smarten up. People don't care as much about LBTQ+ shit as they do about the cost of eggs and housing. Get them to campaign on issues that people will actually vote for.

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u/Mediocre_Truth_6115 Mar 07 '25 edited Mar 07 '25

Your "This is so crazy," quote made me lol. It's funny because it's true, and in my head I kinda heard that generic Hollywood panic voice, you know?

Anyway, it's important to laugh and acknowledge the absurdity despite the dire situation and everything that's at stake.

I keep seeing people saying, "This is the worst fucking timeline," and... I don't know. It's bewildering. You can take away my healthcare, my right to marry, my right to my religion, but dammit I will laugh in your face. You won't break me. You won't break us.

We do need to organize though. ASAP.

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u/Paperfishflop Mar 06 '25

I just want to remind people that Trump & Musk are not just going to let us have the elections we're used to in 26 and 28.

Because if enough dems control congress, or we have a dem president again, Trump and Musk, and many others from this regime WILL be going to jail. They are stealing the country, and they're driving it like they stole it. It won't be like last time, because this time, it's a non-negotiable for us as voters. It's a requirement if you want our vote, that you will prosecute these assholes.

They know that, so they're not gonna give us free and fair elections. We have to accept that now, so we find a way to have them anyway.

And that...won't be easy. The next 2 elections could realistically ignite a civil war.

But, whatever happens...I'm not handing my country over to these fucking dorks. They will be removed, one way or another. I just want people to be realistic. If we assume elections are going to continue like normal, we'll end up with a 99% republican congress.

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u/JudithLOs Illinois Mar 06 '25

I hope 2026 is a turning point and it’s selfish on my part. I am 82 and have seen a lot in my life and not only have grandchildren but Great grandchildren. My heart isn’t the healthiest so I am thinking it’s more likely for me to be here for positive change in 2026-2027. It really irritates me that the senate only runs for 6 years and the house has to run every 2 years. I don’t know who made that decision but I think it’s ridiculous. So is the Electoral College.

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u/Stlswv Mar 07 '25

This presumes we still have a democracy, and we aren’t annexed to Russia.

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u/Paperfishflop Mar 07 '25

Well, I'm saying, we won't have a democracy. We already don't.

We will have to find a way to ensure the elections are fair, or just a way to hold the elections. But we can do that, and we will.

We have to start using "we will" language more. I'm so tired of the "we're screwed/cooked/fucked" language. Makes me feel like I'm gonna end up with some drooling maga gravy seal with a gun kicking my lifeless corpse into a mass grave. And FUCK. THAT.

We WILL be having elections in 26 and 28.

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u/Stlswv Mar 07 '25

I like that energy

7

u/bortle_kombat California Mar 06 '25

If TSLA continues to tank, there's a legitimate chance Elon could get margin called on his Twitter debt and completely fucked. I'm not betting on it yet because TSLA's price does not operate under any conventional form of logic, but I definitely come away with a smile on my face every time I see it's down another 5% today.

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u/DernTuckingFypos Mar 06 '25

Why is it always to ruin a country? Why not making it better? Fuck all these billionaires.

5

u/jacenat Mar 06 '25

Why not making it better?

They are making it better ... FOR THEM!

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u/Costcofluencer Mar 06 '25

Will we all be alive to see the midterms?

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u/Shaper_pmp Mar 07 '25 edited Mar 07 '25

People keep saying "midterms will wipe the republicans"

That's endearingly naive when Trump controls the Federal Election Commission and pretty much every other federal body charged with ensuring election integrity, has a long history of undermining the legitimacy of US elections and is cheerfully firing every bureaucrat with integrity that he can find and replacing them with compliant toadies.

Even assuming there will be free and fair elections in two years is only a little more of a stretch than the idea that Trump will necessarily feel obliged to heed the results returned.

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u/Stlswv Mar 07 '25

I’m curious….

Does anyone (outside of his base,) think Trump and Musk understand how the world economy works? The US economy? Trade?

Or do Trump and Musk not care?

Was tanking the market part of the plan?

Does Trump understand that our current economy is definitely not what he walked into with Trump I? That he can’t f*ck around the same way he did before?

I’m thinking between the fragility of our economic recovery-which wasn’t fast enough for the general public but going in the right direction- and Doge (which I choose to pronounce “doggy” or “douche,”) driving up unemployment, combined with the tariff ping pong game…

I don’t see this working out for anyone.

But maybe he’s converted his wealth to crypto, and is impervious to market fluctuations, flagging consumer confidence, and other victims of our economy?

He doesn’t have reelection to worry about- he either winds up a king, or cant run again.

I feel we’re so screwed.

I’m 4 years from retirement, only with the market downturn, I imagine I may have to work til I die. I’m exhausted.

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u/Competitive-Fly2204 Mar 06 '25

Hopefully we can quadruple that Number.

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u/GR1ZZLYBEARZ Mar 06 '25

Should accelerate after earnings. Sales down 50% in Europe, 76% in Germany, 50% in China, 72% in Australia, already down “12%” in the United States. Currently there are protests at all stores, defacement of people’s teslas in parking lots, vandalism to supercharging and charging stations. No good news coming for them.

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u/QueenOfNZ Mar 06 '25

The only difference between Musk and the Nazis is the Nazis actually made decent cars.

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u/GrandmasShavedBeaver Mar 06 '25

But Musk had the genius level of vision to turn his vehicles into ovens for incinerating the occupants.

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u/BiggestFlower Mar 06 '25

I bet the original Nazis wish their incineration ovens had wheels. So cool, and convenient.

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u/insane_contin Mar 06 '25

You know who else has mobile incinerators? Russia. Wonder how long before Musk gets a contract for those.

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u/EmotionalJoystick Mar 07 '25

Actually the first mass killings done by the Nazis were done via mobile units.

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u/BoxingHare Mar 06 '25

Makes me wonder how comfortable the Las Vegas PD and their SWAT team are going to be rolling around in those things. Is getting flambéed by their own equipment covered by their insurance?

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u/MovieTrawler Mar 06 '25

They also didn't dress like a bunch of mall ninja edgelords.

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u/tsgarner Mar 06 '25

The Nazis wore designer suits from Hugo Boss, Elon wears your-design-here t-shirts from the Internet.

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u/Recipe_Freak Oregon Mar 06 '25

Musk's shirts probably cost $3,000. He's already proven he doesn't have any idea how effectively to save money.

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u/The_BeardedClam Mar 06 '25

Don't forget the Hugo Boss uniforms too, never has evil looked so good.

The Twitter guy and the apprentice host on the other hand, not so much.

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u/YouJabroni44 Colorado Mar 07 '25

The Nazis at least knew how to make door handles. Not that I care much for those assholes.

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u/allanbc Mar 06 '25

I have a Model S that I've had for nine years. It still runs great. I never would have bought it if I could go back, but I can't. That's only to say, Tesla did make decent cars, although I heard the more recent models are much worse, seemingly due to cutting a bunch of corners in order to make them cheaper.

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u/fillemagique Mar 07 '25

I see that a bunch of people in the same position and changing the decals on their Teslas to other brands!

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u/empiricalreddit Mar 06 '25

Excellent. Keep the pressure. Also some governments are cancelling starlink contracts .

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u/bortle_kombat California Mar 06 '25 edited Mar 06 '25

Yup, the stock is already down 45% from its alltime high 10 weeks ago, and it's got much further to fall. Tesla announced it's entering India and building another Texas megafactory, but neither has stopped the share price from continuing to tank. Baird just gave a bearish rating and lowered the price target again, directly citing Elon's toxicity to the company brand.

India currently tariffs American cars hard, so naturally Elon's government flunkies are whining about how that's unfair and India shouldn't tariff America. I'm sure India appreciates the irony, but it's well established that they don't give a shit what the US federal government wants from them. Even if India dropped tariffs, Tesla has already proven it can't compete with established Chinese electric car brands on value. I believe Tesla opening showrooms there is 99% for show: they did it for the headline, knowing they can't actually compete there.

Elon's running out of levers to pull. He used to be able to juice stock price by making announcements that mainlined hopium into his fanboys' veins, but that hasn't been working in 2025. He can claim theyre going to have self-driving taxis in Austin this year, but so what? The Waymo / Uber partnership beat them to the punch. They're already in operation there, and their self-drive actually works unlike Tesla's (because Tesla refuses to use lidar).

Once he promises full self-driving "sometime next year" and it fails to juice the stock, that's when I'll believe he's truly fucked. He's promised it every year since 2014, but never got punished for failing to deliver as long as sales were going up. Now he's gotta justify maintaining 160 P/E on falling sales, and that's just to keep the stock from spiraling harder.

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u/45and47-big_mistake Mar 07 '25

My neighbor was going to buy a Tesla, but he's afraid of the backlash. He found a very cool electric KIA.

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u/HowDenKing Europe Mar 06 '25

76% in Germany

I hate that this somewhat tracks w/ the nazi party getting ~20%...

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u/TheMartian2k14 Mar 06 '25

I support taking down this man at any cost, except for damaging the property of innocent Tesla drivers.

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u/t0m0hawk Canada Mar 06 '25

That would put his net worth at around 0.

Can we look into this? We'll have someone look into this.

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '25 edited Mar 06 '25

He owns almost 50% of SpaceX. his portion Spacex was valued at 350 billion. I think he will be okay even if tesla and twitter sinks.

He needs to be banned from govt contracts, but he will just go to china or russia.... oh wait.. they won't pay him.

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u/haakonhawk Mar 06 '25

SpaceX is worth 700B? As a private company?

Yea, I'm not buying that.

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u/KMack666 Mar 06 '25

Well, Trump is literally taking that 'efficiency' money, giving it to Elon in government contracts, while he stuffs a bunch into his own pockets playing golf at his own clubs... People need to snap out of it

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u/mybeachlife California Mar 06 '25

Yeah it’s literally the meme:

Well well well, if it isn’t the consequences of my own actions.

Musk thought he could just do whatever the hell he wanted and his money would always shield him. Turns out that’s not always the case.

If TSLA stock fully craters he’s out. Full stop.

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u/GR1ZZLYBEARZ Mar 06 '25

Tesla stock has defied all laws of economics, thuganomics, metaphysics and psychology. It was due for a fundamental tumble based on its business a long time ago. The rise of the “Turd Reich” has accelerated reality.

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u/Kiromaru Wisconsin Mar 06 '25

Tack on the fact that part of the loan he got to buy Twitter had a bunch of his Tesla stock as collateral means the banks will be on his ass once Tesla stock gets low enough that they want either more collateral or bigger payments on the loan.

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u/johannthegoatman Mar 07 '25

Banks won't be on his ass as long as he's first lady, just like Trump gets away with everything. Otherwise they'll make some new executive order to fuck them

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u/Narrow-Chef-4341 Mar 07 '25

It’s a possibility, but banks really, really like money - don’t underestimate that.

If they end up forcing him to sell Tesla stock because of a margin call, that’s not good for him. If the Fanta Fascist stops thinking he’s a magician and realizes he’s a loser, he’s on the curb faster than Tiffany Trump.

The question isn’t if the banks will demand more, the question is which bank demands the least ‘more’

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u/Shaper_pmp Mar 07 '25 edited Mar 07 '25

If TSLA stock fully craters he’s out. Full stop.

Sadly, I doubt it.

His stake in Tesla is worth about $200b, but his stake in SpaceX is worth about $147 billion all on its own, and with the cost savings from reusable rockets they're so far ahead of the competition that nobody's dropping them to pay double the amount for less reliability. If (when) Starship makes it into commercial service they'll be even further ahead of the competition, who still haven't even caught up with Falcon 9 after a decade.

Losing Tesla would be embarrassing for him, but realistically he'd still have more money than god and certainly enough to keep buying his place in politics pretty much indefinitely.

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '25

it’s the rise of the “Turd Reich”

Ah dude that got such a chuckle out of me, good work

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u/____u Mar 07 '25 edited Mar 07 '25

We need way higher standards than this. The HEADLINE confirms: "Elon has not suffered literally fucking AT ALL because he still has more money than when the election rallied his wealth"

Who fuckin CARES how far its fallen. Bro is STILL UP FROM THE ELECTION RALLY.

This whole thread reminds me of when reddit gets excited because EAs stock had a big dip and then you zoom out to 6months or 1year and theyre FILTHY rich. I doubt Musk actually thinks he needs a single cent of Tesla money to keep up this charade.

Hes trying to unhitch his power from corporations and tie it to fascism instead. Thats the entire point of what he is doing so far quite successfully.

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u/copperwatt Mar 07 '25

Lol, I got banned from r/teslamodel3 for typing "Turd Reich". I'm not not proud of that..

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u/happyprocrastinator Mar 06 '25

I hope it drops another 300B :)

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u/VaultiusMaximus Mar 06 '25

This is insane to me. When I was in high school, the richest man in the world had 9 billion dollars.

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u/Biglyugebonespurs Missouri Mar 06 '25

I love this for him.

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u/reckless_commenter Mar 06 '25

Worse than the immediate dip in value is the long-term damage to the Musk brand that will obstruct his efforts for years to come.

Like this:

Carlos Slim orders to cancel his collaboration with Elon Musk’s Starlink

In a significant business development, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim has decided to cancel his collaboration with Elon Musk’s Starlink. The decision comes after a series of tensions between the two magnates, culminating in Slim’s choice to invest in his own infrastructure rather than relying on Starlink’s satellite technology.

Slim’s company, América Móvil, announced plans to invest $22 billion over the next three years to enhance its telecommunications infrastructure. This move is seen as a strategic effort to strengthen its position in the market and reduce dependency on external partners like Starlink. The decision is expected to have a substantial financial impact on Musk’s company, which had anticipated a lucrative partnership in Latin America.

The fallout between Slim and Musk was further exacerbated by a controversial tweet from Musk, which implied connections between Slim and organized crime. This accusation, although unproven, added fuel to the already strained relationship between the two business tycoons.

Elon Musk shared a post on his social network stating that Slim could have ties to criminal groups, and five minutes later, Carlos Slim canceled all business collaborations with Starlink in Latin America, which made Musk lose 7 billion US dollars.

An hour later, Slim announced that he would transfer his projects for the next 5 years with Starlink, an investment of 22 billion dollars, to companies in China and Europe.

More than money, Musk lost his main partner in 25 countries, in addition to giving up all that territory to companies of his competition and, most seriously, causing the USA to continue losing commercial presence and giving it to China.

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u/LadySiren North Carolina Mar 06 '25

I’m so totally stealing “Turd Reich”.

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u/darkstar1031 Mar 06 '25

We're 1/3 of the way there. Only 226 Billion to go.

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u/Evening_Aside_4677 Mar 07 '25

Tesla stock is still +50% for the last 12 months….got a long way to go. 

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u/seb1492 Mar 07 '25

I know a lot of Tesla owners and no one plans to re-buy a Tesla as long as Elon is in charge. He is killing the brand.

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u/MrThunderizer Mar 07 '25

Crazy that Tesla was so overvalued that losing 120b still doesn't bring it down to a reasonable level.

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u/fross370 Mar 06 '25

if we get to see Musk declare bankruptcy in my lifetime, I am splurging on a 150$ bottle of scotch

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u/kshitagarbha Mar 06 '25

Seagram's is going to be $150 by the end of the summer

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u/HuhWatWHoWhy Mar 07 '25

Jack Daniels will be paying people to take theirs away

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u/pdxlxxix Mar 06 '25

I’ll drink to that.

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/liquid-handsoap Europe Mar 06 '25

Fuck it, i’ll even drink if i can poop tomorrow

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u/jimmy9800 Mar 06 '25

Bankrupcy didn't stop Trump. I'm hoping for deportation.

The schadenfreude would be nice though.

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u/InkBlotSam Mar 06 '25

If we get to see Musk declare bankruptcy in my lifetime, I am willing to drink your whole bottle of scotch with you ... or without you, your choice..

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u/NoGrocery3582 Mar 06 '25

I'm stopping by.

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u/shugo2000 Tennessee Mar 06 '25

By the time that happens, a bottle of scotch that currently costs $30 will probably cost $150.

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u/LitOak Mar 06 '25

He's been giving off that Rudy Giuliani vibe for a while.

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u/Pretend_Accountant41 Canada Mar 06 '25

Also Trump dying! Of natural causes or fortunately unfortunate events 

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u/PickleNotaBigDill Mar 06 '25

Just don't do it with bourbon.

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u/Sinistrahd Mar 07 '25

I was going to recommend the glenfiddich 21 I was gifted once but it seems to be mostly in private hands and getting scalped now. It was delicious for the year and a half I babied it...

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u/Kodachrome30 Mar 06 '25

F yes.... Countries are bailing on Star Link.... woo hoo

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u/drcforbin Louisiana Mar 07 '25

I loved seeing that within minutes of musk tweeting something connecting Carlos Slim to organized crime, Slim cancelled $7B worth of starlink contracts, and later announced a plan to invest $22B in European and Chinese competitors

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u/Boilermakingdude 29d ago

Ontario Canada also cancelled a (yes I know very minimal sum in comparison) 100m deal for starlink as well.

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u/drcforbin Louisiana 29d ago

Every bit counts!

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u/Kodachrome30 Mar 07 '25

The prize is the $42B Federal program. I guess they're just figuring out how Trump and the other politicians are going to personally benefit from the contract.

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u/BoysenberryAncient54 Mar 06 '25

Well yeah, it's clearly a massive security risk.

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u/Wind_Yer_Neck_In Mar 06 '25

It may take some time for governments to put up their own versions but honestly it's better than being at the whims of a ketamine riddled psychopath.

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u/BoysenberryAncient54 Mar 06 '25

Yeah. I feel bad for people about to lose service but this threat needs to be cancelled out immediately.

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u/Current-Anybody9331 Mar 06 '25

This has been my favorite part of this hellscape

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u/weedbearsandpie Mar 07 '25

he's evidenced that Starlink will literally be used as a tool to bully other countries to comply, nowhere will be interested in using it governmentally in the future

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u/Objective_Star_191 Mar 07 '25

Well deserved 

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u/Drkblujeans Mar 06 '25

Carlos Slim just cut ties costing Musk 7 billion now and 22 billion over the next five years lol.

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u/BeeDeeBrz Mar 07 '25

I expect a lot of Musk tweets kicking down at fed employees will be spewing soon. Chainsaw cosplay a'coming.

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u/FormerUsenetUser Mar 06 '25

And then Musk will get it back by ripping it off out of government contracts, and our Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and education.

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u/squidvett Mar 06 '25

Or we can hope that in this perverted reality, Musk ends up like Rudy Giuliani after Trump is finished with him.

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u/yearofthesponge Mar 07 '25

Or that people take matters into their own hands. Musk should be a little scared because he can’t defend against millions of mad Americans around every street corner. It’s not fun being hounded and receiving death threats. I imagine it can be a little stressful especially if this becomes a group stalking situation.

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u/Sufficient-Hold-2053 Mar 06 '25

yeah the sovereign wealth fund is literally musk levying a tax on people with no law and stealing the money.

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u/9iz6iG8oTVD2Pr83Un Mar 06 '25

Right? There’s a goal here that isn’t clear to most. He knew he was going to lose money going through all this.

3

u/2Loves2loves Mar 06 '25

and going to MARS

9

u/FormerUsenetUser Mar 06 '25

I'd be happy to send Musk to Mars on a one-way ticket.

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u/tinylittlemarmoset Mar 06 '25

It would be great if we could septouple (sp?) that number and put him in about $100b worth of debt and then force him to work as a fry cook for minimum wage.

9

u/Ok-Swim1555 Mar 06 '25

amazon warehouse picker

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u/exceptyourewrong Mar 06 '25

Is he still "the richest man in the world?" Because I bet things will change dramatically once he isn't.

Getting him out of the "three comma club" might be the best possible thing that can happen for humanity.

3

u/DEEP_HURTING Oregon Mar 06 '25

Yes, no more doors that go like this:

‾\(-.-)/‾

8

u/spunkypudding Mar 06 '25

Hopefully he'll go bankrupt

6

u/DarkwingDuckHunt Mar 06 '25

his boards should have fired him by now

if I was a stockholder I'd be planning a lawsuit against the board for negligence for not firing him

3

u/Stingray88 Mar 07 '25

The Tesla board is completely captured. It’s all his relatives.

6

u/multificionado Mar 06 '25

I look forward to the day when he's reduced to a begging vagrant on the streets. Bonus if the orange demon can join him there.

3

u/Additional-One-7135 Mar 06 '25

Unrealized losses, shit doesn't get truly serious until those get so large that all of his creditors who loaned him real money based on the value of his stock panic and come for what he owes.

3

u/No_Obligation4636 Mar 06 '25

I hope we can like 1000x that number and kick him out of the usa, get rid of trump and vance too while we're at it

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u/LittleALunatic Mar 06 '25

Its a matter of sticking to the dogma of the republican party. Under current dogma, DOGE can only be a good thing - it is cutting government "inefficiency" and that has to be good, because Elon is doing it. Under republican dogma, all bad things are always the fault of democrats, or DEI, so as soon as cuts are bad it has to be the fault of dems or DEI or some shit. Somehow. It doesn't even have to make sense, it can be as nonsensical as it needs to be, as long as it fits the narrative of DOGE good, Elon good, government bad. As soon as they lose grip on the narrative and cuts are seen in public consciosness as bad, they need to find a new scapegoat. They are just trying and failing to control the narrative.

169

u/waffle299 I voted Mar 06 '25

Conservatism can never fail, it can only be failed 

So when it inevitably fails, a lethal game of hot potato ensues

21

u/Competitive-Fly2204 Mar 06 '25

Conservatism is distilled concentrated failure.

9

u/yikes_mylife Mar 06 '25

Thanks, Obama

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u/Tasty_Reach4572 Mar 06 '25

But, but, but drag queens are dangerous. Isn't everything bad their fault? I guess I have some catching up to do.

6

u/Hector_P_Catt Mar 06 '25

The Democrats sneakily gave them high falutin' names like "National Nuclear Security Administration". That could mean anything! How could the poor (at reading) Republicans have ever known that those jobs might actually be important? /s

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '25

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u/count023 Australia Mar 07 '25

I wanna know where are Tesla's board of directors. Why hasn't Musk been fired after the Nazi salute and everything that's come afterwards. Teslas stock price was already massively over inflated, you'd think the board would do everything they can to stop him rocking the boat 

7

u/totesuncommon Mar 07 '25

The same board that twice reinstated a $56B (B!) bonus for him that a federal judge said was effing crazy? It's up to 100B now. The stock is still way overvalued so they're not getting off the ride.

4

u/Internal-War-9947 Mar 07 '25

Because the board is stacked with relatives unfortunately. Otherwise, yeah they probably would've. 

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u/Outrageous_Reach_695 Mar 06 '25

What would the potential liability be here? Are we talking 'settlements end up eating all his stocks'?

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u/Droidaphone Mar 06 '25

This is a legal maneuver. DOGE does not have authority to order cuts inside other agencies, only respective agency heads do. This has come up in some the lawsuits. This is CYA hand-waving, just like how supposedly Musk is not in charge of DOGE.

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u/footinmymouth Mar 06 '25

He is the head of a NEW AGENCY according to SOTU address, but also is “merely an advisor” according to DOJ, but also he was personally messaging and texting people to force the shutdowns

He has been receiving the “goldilocks” treatment by the executive and the judges are cornering him in.

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u/lilbunnfoofoo Mar 06 '25

This article from AP makes me think they just want to blame anyone besides republicans now:

https://apnews.com/article/musk-doge-trump-blame-federal-workers-republicans-2945026366f42b0879087f2e7d4b9d71

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '25

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u/FormerUsenetUser Mar 06 '25

RFK wants to start organic farms and put drug addicts on them to work. RFK can be Musk's personal trainer for that and get them both out of our hair.

9

u/Mirria_ Canada Mar 06 '25

Not specifically drug addicts, but anyone who takes medication for mental issues / non-visible issues. Like depression, attention deficit, narcolepsy, bipolar disorder, etc...

6

u/aspiringalcoholic Mar 07 '25

As a depression/adhd dude I laugh at the fact he thinks he can just round us up. I got nothing to lose motherfucker, you think I’m just gonna go along quietly?

5

u/yennabees Mar 07 '25

If he thinks we are unhinged now, just wait until he sees us without medication!

65

u/ChickenDenders Mar 06 '25

I get the impression he’s been in constant fear of being assassinated ever since the election

72

u/FormerUsenetUser Mar 06 '25

Poor baby. The rest of us are afraid of not being able to afford food, medical expenses, or housing. We'll just starve or not be able to afford medical care. If RFK lets us get any medical care.

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u/TWNT7 Mar 06 '25

He’s not carrying his kid around everywhere he goes because he’s a good father!

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u/ktwhite42 Mar 06 '25

He’s carrying one of his kids as a human shield.

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u/Ok_Conversation9750 Mar 06 '25

Why do you think he wears his kid everywhere?  Little human shield.

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u/misteakswhirmaid Mar 06 '25

This is why he keeps having children. Human shields. Seriously.

5

u/yearofthesponge Mar 07 '25

Just because he is paranoid doesn’t mean he’s wrong. And it’s only going to get worse with millions of unemployed Americans having too much time on their hands. He will have to sleep with one eye open and next to a body guard at all times. He’s lost his freedom and he deserves it.

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u/ScoobyDooItInTheButt Mar 06 '25

More like a few angry shareholder phone calls.

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u/Shadow_Ent Mar 06 '25

That and they are becoming highly aware that they won with Swing Voters and they are quickly being disillusioned with the idea that Trump is going to make their lives better.

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u/Clarkkeeley Mar 06 '25

It's probably because Tesla is going to kick him out of the CEO spot. He might be the biggest shareholder, but all the shareholders are feeling the pain of losing roughly half the value of the stock.

4

u/Coloradocraze Mar 06 '25

A couple? He's almost as hated as DT and without his reputation for being the golden boy, even the musk empire can come crashing down.

4

u/CategoryZestyclose91 Mar 06 '25

Honestly, between him whining on Rogan that all the online hate has ‘been really hard on him’ and him actually wearing a suit to Trump’s address to Congress, methinks he is beginning to crack. 

We need to keep needling him and working overtime to exploiting his insecurities 

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u/FormerUsenetUser Mar 07 '25

And protesting outside Tesla dealers to bring the stock down.

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u/anotheroutlaw Mar 06 '25

Have you seen Tesla's stock since DOGE kicked off? Musk is trying to stop the bleeding.

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u/ScoobyDooItInTheButt Mar 06 '25

More like a few angry shareholder phone calls.

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u/TotallyNotaBotAcount Mar 06 '25

Well, his dumb ass has Lost 116 billion dollars since joining this circus and they are burning down his dealerships in multiple countries…. Couldn’t of happened to a shiter’y shithead.

3

u/brianbelgard Mar 06 '25

Musk is about to learn why politicians avoid being unambiguously responsible for cutting jobs like it's the plague.

3

u/GrimDallows Mar 06 '25

No, he is gaining political infamy through his nazi salute and his federal tear down, and this is tanking the shares and popularity of his businesses like Tesla.

Billionaires depend a lot on share value, because they usually have a huge part of their fortunes in the form of shares (unrealized gains) to avoid paying taxes on liquid money or property (realized gains).

Musk is different from other billionaires because he depends a lot more on shares. He is a snake oil salesman, so his business is usually selling up smoke to people who support him. To explain this better: most tech companys are considered overvalued in the market due to the tech craze, but Tesla has been considered innnnnnnnncredibly overvalued because it is easily to compare it to other car manufacturing companys, which are also overvalued but not to such insane levels.

Tesla and the other Musk companies work like Apple or Redbull. Most of their revenue comes from brand value and marketing rather than the sum of the value of the materials they are made of.

You should think about it this way: If apple had Steve Jobs, and Steve Jobs suddenly went from being perceived as a tech guru to a pro-nazi ideologist who sabotages elections for profit, do you think Apple as a brand would be as cherished? IF that happened, Apple would have to switch to damage control mode, and start relesing very efficient MAC/iPhone models that could technically beat their competitors in the market trough quality rather than brand value.

Tesla is at that stage right now, and it CANT pivot towards a quality and consumer friendly product because it's product is subpar in a lot of areas but also aimed at the wealthy.

Elon simply just noticed that even though he is making a lot of cash through his federal interference and political influence it is costing him permanent image damage, so he is trying to force/lie to people into thinking that he has nothing to do with the stupid things DOGE is doing while also ensuring that DOGE doesn't stop so he can reap government contracts and political influence.

He wants to make people believe that DOGE, his personal sock puppet, is an entirely different entity to stop his unpopularity from tanking his fortune, or causing a stain of permanent distrust that would stop his other business ventures, because he lives off the blood and unwavering, blind, support of his own fans.

TL;DR: Elon is an idiot. HE is a idiot man's idea of an intelligent man, and his profits depends on this being this way, so he is trying damage control to clean his image after publicly fucking everyone over for his own benefit.

3

u/ussrowe Mar 06 '25

I'm not an expert but we're on Reddit where that doesn't matter, Musk has severe mood swings and has been in a manic period that has grown in intensity since November, crescendoed with DOGE slashing and burning everything, and he's do for a crash soon. I think it's starting.

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u/CehJota California Mar 06 '25

The guy running around on stage with a chainsaw doesn't want to be known for cuts 😂

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '25

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u/arthurno1 Mar 06 '25 edited Mar 07 '25

So Trump got Elon to pay for the elections, than make him do unpopular stuff, and now he will sack him, since he announced publicly in his speech to Congress, that Elon is running doge, so no one should have doubt about it.

From the man who managed to bankrupt a casino himself! The man is a cunny beast indeed. But I don't think he can play the world politics the same way, I think it will backfire the big way. I think he gave us an important lesson, about why democracy is important.

You can play out autocrats, and billionaires this way, but you can't play out democracies, since in a democracy important decisions are not made on a whim of a single person. This is why a democracy is more resilient than an autocracy.

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u/Ghost_of_a_Black_Cat Washington Mar 06 '25

man who managed to bankrupt a casino himself

Three casinos. Three.

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '25

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u/LurksAroundHere Mar 07 '25

It's funny watching them try to scapegoat each other.

To America - "That was Elon, not the Republican Party, keep supporting us!"

To the rest of the world - "That was the Republican Party, not me, keep supporting me!"

3

u/KingOriginal5013 Mar 07 '25

Isn't it spelled Swastikkkar?

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u/Cyberhwk Illinois Mar 06 '25

"Prancing and dancing around like a dipshit."

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u/Outrageous-Ranger-61 Mar 06 '25

Oh yeah, forgot about that. Lol

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u/Johnny-Silverhand007 Mar 06 '25

I think is more for legal reasons. There was a court case over the mass firings where a judge said the OPM overstepped their authority with the mass firings. Then they came back and said it was actually the agency heads that were responsible for the firings.

Trump administration revises directive to federal agencies on mass firings - CBS News

U.S. District Judge William Alsup found that "OPM did not have the authority to direct the firing of employees, probationary or otherwise, in any other federal agency."

The latest guidance from OPM revises a Jan. 20 memo from Ezell that required agencies to identify all employees still in their probationary periods and send a report to the agency listing all those workers. The memo instructed department heads to "promptly determine whether those employees should be retained at the agency."

But the revised memo includes a new paragraph that states that "by this memorandum, OPM is not directing agencies to take any specific performance-based actions regarding probationary employees. Agencies have ultimate decision-making authority over, and responsibility for, such personnel actions."
OPM said it "wanted to clarify in light of a recent court order and some public misinformation. It has always been up to agencies whether to take performance-based actions against probationary employees."

Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, or AFGE, said OPM's latest guidance "is a clear admission that it unlawfully directed federal agencies to carry out mass terminations of probational employees."

"Every agency should immediately rescind these unlawful terminations and reinstate everyone who was illegally fired," Kelley said in a statement regarding the memo.

It feels like this is a "cover their ass" move. They know that if it's DOGE being held responsible for the cuts a judge would have an easier time of ruling them illegal using the same logic as the earlier court case.

So, Musk is telling Republicans to frame it as the agency heads doing the cuts in the hopes the cuts will get through the courts.

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u/Genghis_Tr0n187 Mar 06 '25

The fucking dork still has a pinned tweet with a banner: "The DOGEfather" featuring him with his chainsaw.

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u/Mother_Win_2248 Mar 06 '25

Because he is trying to avoid his stock going to $0.

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '25

The dude came out with a fucking chainsaw. As in he's cutting and cutting away...

11

u/rW0HgFyxoJhYka Mar 06 '25

Watch media say some shit, nothiing happens, they stop talking about it, USA continues free falling.

7

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '25

M: I'm not taking the fall for this, I have so much money ...

T: Well I'm not taking the fall, I'm more than Jesus to the voters...

...both look at each other as they have the same idea

Both: Yo JD Boi, get in here!

3

u/DarthChocolate Mar 06 '25

he thinks he is funny, like literally

4

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '25

Because he's surrounded by yes-men and laugh at your rich boss jokes and bits

12

u/_MrDomino Mar 06 '25

The same way Trump doesn't get blame for tanking the economy with his disastrous tariffs. When you're rich and Republican, you're never wrong cause even your shit don't stink (and you'll fire/jail anyone who dare say otherwise).

8

u/unsafeideas Mar 06 '25

I for one believe that all the enablers and supporters in republican party do deserve part of the credit. It is not just Musk.

It is Bannon. It is every single politician who keeps kissing Musk and Trump backside. It is every conservative who defended them for years, supported their claims.

7

u/BitterAd4149 Mar 06 '25

republicans absolutely love to not be responsible for their actions or have to deal with consequences.

6

u/FrasierandNiles Mar 06 '25

I did or did not create an account on xitter just to call him scumbag.

4

u/Describing_Donkeys Mar 06 '25

I hope we can be clear Republicans and Musk are both responsible. They are trying to blame each other, but it requires both parties committing to what's happening.

5

u/Circumin Mar 06 '25

Because its hurting his feelings. Like seriously he said this recently.

5

u/numbersthen0987431 Mar 06 '25

Because it's Kamala's fault, duh!!!!

/s

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '25 edited 29d ago

[deleted]

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u/turtlelore2 Mar 06 '25

Evil idiot does evil idiot things. Swears he's not an evil idiot

4

u/BoringFloridaMan Mar 06 '25

He’s a spineless turd.

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '25 edited 27d ago

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u/Practical-Dish-4522 Mar 06 '25

He was tell Rogan just the other day that DOGE was going to get him assassinated, maybe that thought made it through the ketamine cloud in his brain

3

u/Rrraou Mar 06 '25

Could it be he doesn't want to face litigation for bypassing congress and twiitterfying government institutions with his brilliant management ?

He should probably get in line for a pardon now while the line is short.

3

u/ReElectNobody Mar 06 '25

His stock price has been tanking. His ego can't risk not being the richest man in the world.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '25

Cause musk probably listens to everything they tell him tbh. He clearly lacked attention growing up and this is probably very exploitable to anyone who has influence in his eyes.

3

u/HFEAD52390 Mar 07 '25

Just attended a town hall with my Democratic senator. According to them, Republicans in Congress are genuinely worried that if they go against Elon, he’ll bankroll a primary challenger against them. They’re weighing whether they can be more effective by staying under the radar to attempt to get things done or by speaking out and risking a primary challenge. The key factor here is their constituents—if people call and demand they stand up to Elon, that could shift the calculus. Otherwise, they’re unlikely to act.

Take that for what it is. Personally, I believe they should have integrity, but I understand they’re making a strategic decision, and public pressure is probably the only variable that can change the equation.

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