Elon Musk: Superhero or Supervillain?

Last Monday, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States of America…

And billionaire Elon Musk was front and center for the celebration.

Musk has plenty to be happy about.

He spent a fortune to get Trump reelected…

But he’s getting his money’s worth.

One of Donald Trump’s first moves as president was to sign an executive order officially creating the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a cost-cutting initiative meant to be headed by Musk and fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy.

Ramaswamy is already out the door.

Meaning Elon Musk alone has been granted unprecedented power to influence federal budgets.

And that’s especially important to Musk because his companies are deeply entangled with the federal government.

Anticipating this power move, investors poured money into Tesla stock after the election.

Source: Yahoo Finance

It surged over 71%, helping add $200 billion to Musk’s net worth over the past couple of months.

That’s a phenomenal return on his investment in Trump’s presidency.

I should note here that we recommended TSLA last year when it traded for under $200.

It didn’t have anything to do with the election…

It was because of the company’s advancements in self driving and because I see a path forward for humanoid robots.

Tesla could end up becoming a leader in both.

And things are only looking up for Musk from here.

Federal agencies have targeted his companies in at least 20 recent investigations or reviews.

Source: Jonathan Corum

But those problems could simply go away now with the power he’s been given.

After all, since the election Musk has had the unfiltered ear of the president.

And he has been a near constant presence by Trump’s side.

He was reported to have moved into Mar-a-Lago shortly after Trump won, paying upward of $2,000 per night to “crash” there in an elite suite.

And a recent report from the Daily Beast has him potentially buying property in Washington, D.C., to be closer to the president.

These moves have CNN asking:

But I have a more pressing question.

Is he a superhero or a supervillain?

Tony Stark or Lex Luthor?

In a previous issue of The Daily Disruptor, I mentioned that Elon Musk is as close to the real-life version of Tony Stark — the genius tech entrepreneur also known as Iron Man — as it gets.

But that might not be the best comic book comparison.

Right now, Elon Musk owns:

• The biggest electric car company in the world, Tesla.
• One of the world’s biggest social media platforms, X (formerly Twitter).
• The most valuable private aerospace company in the world, SpaceX.
• And a worthy competitor in the AI race, xAI.

Among other bleeding edge companies like Neurolink and Starlink.

Fact is, Musk already has everything he needs to build an alternative system to our government.

He owns a global media platform, satellites and spaceships, internet access through Starlink, power charging through Tesla, an emerging AI platform with Grok…

He even wants to integrate a banking solution into X, making it an “everything app” for the U.S. like WhatsApp is for China.

And with his new role as the head of DOGE, he should have an outsized influence on federal policymaking.

In this way, he’s much closer to Lex Luthor, Superman’s brilliant arch-nemesis who uses his superior tech knowledge and wealth to attempt to take over the world.

But that still might not be the best comparison for Musk.

Here’s My Take

As a fan of comic books when I was younger, it seems to me that Musk is acting more like Batman’s sworn enemy, the Joker.

After all, you never know what to expect with him.

Last week, hours after President Trump announced a $500 billion joint venture between OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle to help build artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States…

Elon threw cold water on it.

Leading to this contentious exchange on X between Musk and OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman:

Was it because he’s concerned about SoftBank’s influence or because he’s angry that xAI isn’t part of this deal?

Either way, he’s already undermining Trump’s plans.

Maybe he learned this behavior from the president – also known for his rash behavior?

I’ll bet you have an opinion.

When I initially wrote about Elon’s contributions to President Trump’s reelection, I got a ton of reader feedback.

Folks have strong feelings about Elon Musk.

Reader Steve notes: “If not motivated by money Elon will almost certainly be motivated by fame stemming from these goals he has for humanity. The push for fame can be just as corruptive as money.”

While Patricia says: “He has proved many times that making or losing money is not that important to him. He sees a much bigger picture. Thank you Elon.”

Another reader suggested: “You can expect even the impossible with Musk in control…”

But reader Michael thinks Musk is a: “megalomaniac, man-child with no filter.”

I’m curious to know what YOU believe.

Is Elon Musk a hero? A villain? Or something in between?

Let me know your thoughts in an email to dailydisruptor@banyanhill.com.

And I’ll let you know what the consensus is in a future issue.

Regards,

Ian King
Chief Strategist, Banyan Hill Publishing