LOSER: – Republicans lost decisively in Tuesday night’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election. Elon Musk is still saying everything is going according to plan. The Wisconsin election, Musk claimed, would decide the trajectory of not only the whole country, but perhaps all of “Western civilization” and “the future of the world,” as he said in a Spaces conversation on X hours before polls closed Tuesday.

After warning of the dire stakes for the election, Musk changed his tune in the hours following the crushing defeat, seemingly indicating that the loss was all part of a bigger plan. “I expected to lose, but there is value to losing a piece for a positional gain,” Musk replied to an X user early Wednesday morning. – By Giselle Ruhyyih Ewing – 04/02/2025 Politico

CARMA: Tesla sales have plummeted to their lowest level in three years after a backlash against its boss Elon Musk. The electric car maker delivered almost 337,000 electric vehicles in the first three months of 2025, a 13% drop from a year ago.

Tesla shares tumbled in early trading on Wednesday after the release of the low sales numbers. The cars face increasing competition from Chinese firm BYD, but experts believe Musk’s controversial role in the Trump administration has had an effect too.

“These numbers suck,” early Tesla investor Ross Gerber of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management wrote on X. “The brand is broken and may not be fixable”, added Mr Gerber, who was once a Musk supporter but has recently called for the board to remove the billionaire as CEO.

TESLA TAKEDOWN: There have been protests and boycotts around the world prompted by Musk’s outspoken and controversial political involvement. He has been heading up President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative to cut federal spending and slash the government workforce.

On Wednesday, Politico reported that Trump had told his inner circle Musk would be stepping back from the administration in the coming weeks. The backlash against Mr Musk has included “Tesla Takedown” protests at Tesla dealerships across the US and in Europe. Tesla vehicles have also been vandalised, and Trump has said his administration would charge people who deface Teslas with “domestic terrorism.”

Musk’s stewardship of his businesses, including Tesla, has been called into question. “Elon Musk is so distracted that he’s driving Tesla off a financial cliff,” said Comptroller Brad Lander in a statement. – Lily Jamali BBC

A TON OF BRICKS: – The White House is furiously pushing back against an explosive report that First Buddy Elon Musk will be leaving the Department of Government Efficiency ‘in the coming weeks’.

Citing four anonymous ‘Trump insiders,’ the Politico website wrote that President Donald Trump and Musk had ‘decided’ that the 53-year-old billionaire entrepreneur will soon ‘be stepping back’ to take on a ‘supporting role’ and returning to the private sector to lead his businesses.

The article hit official Washington like a ton of bricks – as it suggested that a long-anticipated rift had finally opened between Trump and the eccentric genius who bankrolled the president’s 2024 campaign to the tune of $288 million. But this Politico report – and the vehemence with which the White House and allies have responded – has fanned even more wild speculation in political circles, as many suggested that Musk had been forced out of the administration by rivals. And insiders conceded that there are pockets of discontent in the administration over Musk’s role.

ICE MAIDEN: One of the most influential people Musk has reportedly butted heads with is Trump’s Chief of Staff Wiles, nicknamed the ‘Ice Maiden’ by Trump, thanks to her cold determination. Given Wiles’s reputation as a political operator who understands the ‘dark arts’ of manipulating media coverage to kneecap her opponents, insiders have suggested that she could be behind the Politico piece.

Finally, some have speculated that there may be a simpler, more personal reason for Musk to leave his role sooner than planned: perhaps he has fallen out with Trump. Just two months ago, Musk Tweeted: ‘I love @realDonaldTrump as much as a straight man can love another man.’ But critics have long questioned how long two men, both with such large egos, could work closely together without upset.

And commentators have suggested that their relationship would end whenever Trump felt threatened by Musk. ‘Trump and Musk: The Bromance That Cannot Last’, read one such New York Times headline in November.

By ISABELLE STANLEY FOR THE DAILY MAIL and CHARLIE SPIERING, 3 April 2025.

Elon Musk is a Canadian citizen and some have suggested he might run to become Prime Minister of the ’51st State’.

Apr 03, 2025 11:02:34 pm