Episode summary
Elon Musk sees the election as a 'crusade' and is all in on the Republicans, says Walter Isaacson
Summary
Walter Isaacson said Elon Musk is now treating politics as a full-scale mission rather than a side bet, especially in the run-up to the midterms and the 2028 presidential race. He said Musk is spending more money this time, but doing it more quietly through get-out-the-vote efforts and targeted ads, and that he sees the fight as a “crusade” for Republicans rather than a normal political calculation.
Isaacson also argued that Musk is mercurial and has repeatedly shifted positions, including moving away from politics after saying he had made a mistake by being too visible. Even so, Isaacson said Musk now appears deeply committed to backing Republicans and to fighting specific Democrats in Texas and elsewhere. He said that if Democrats win a broad sweep, it could complicate Musk’s relationship with the federal government, including NASA, the FAA, and other regulators, though he does not think that risk is what drives Musk.
On Starlink and Starshield, Isaacson said Musk initially helped Ukraine by restoring communications, then restricted use in Crimea, and later created Starshield to separate military uses from commercial Starlink. He suggested Musk has also gone sour on President Trump, even as he remains deeply political.
Key takeaways
- Walter Isaacson said Elon Musk is now “all in” on Republicans and is treating the fight as a crusade, not a tactical endorsement.
- Isaacson said Musk is spending more money on politics this cycle but doing it more quietly through targeted ads and get-out-the-vote efforts.
- Isaacson said a Democratic sweep could make it harder for Musk’s businesses to work with the federal government, including NASA and the FAA.
- Isaacson said Musk is mercurial and can swing from stepping back from politics to jumping back in aggressively.
- On Starlink, Isaacson said Musk moved from helping Ukraine restore communications to creating Starshield so military use would be handled separately.
Notable quotes
“HE SEES THIS AS A CRUSADE. HE HAS TO GET ON BECAUSE HE'S ALL IN NOW FOR THE REPUBLICANS”
“HE IS DEEPLY, DEEPLY POLITICAL RIGHT NOW. AND HE FEELS ESPECIALLY THAT IN TEXAS HE WANTS TO DEFEAT TALARICO”
“IF THE DEMOCRATS SWEEP, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE WILD INVESTIGATIONS”
“HE SAVED UKRAINE IN THE FIRST FEW DAYS BY ALLOWING STARLINK TO RESTORE COMMUNICATIONS THAT HAD BEEN CUT OFF”
How the episode opens
Because some wishes can come true. That's
Welcome back to squawk box. The midterms are just days away. Elon musk tweeting overnight saying his biggest concern is that there is a clean sweep by democrats of the house, senate and presidency.
He thinks potentially in 2028. And if america. Joining us right now was Walter Isaacson, author of elon musk, professor of history at tulane university and advisory partner at perella weinberg, a cnbc contributor and podcaster with a great new series called the builders, which features interviews with everybody from musk himself to dario amodei and so many others.
Great to see you this morning. Let's just start with the tweet of the hour, walter, which is what do you think is inspiring elon to speak out about this in the way that he just did.
In the podcast, in the builder series? I talked to musk and he said that he was too out front. He felt he was doing way too much showmanship.
Last time he got involved in politics chainsaw on stage, he got, you know, a little bit too forward on it. What he's doing now is spending twice as much money, but more quietly behind the scenes, especially on things like get out the vote, targeted ads, things. He did so well in pennsylvania two years ago to help president trump carry that state.
I think that he is deeply, deeply political right now. And he feels especially that in texas he wants to defeat talarico, and he feels that the republicans come in. He's the type of person who's an all in person.
He doesn't see nuance that well. He doesn't see black and white. He sees this as a crusade.
He has to get on because he's all in now for the republicans.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- elon musk politics
- support for republicans
- election crusade
- media and authorship
- campaign involvement
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Perella Weinberg Partners
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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