Elon Musk’s interview with CBS Sunday Morning appeared to get off to a clumsy begin, as reporter David Pogue requested the SpaceX CEO about his ideas on his ally Donald Trump’s insurance policies, together with rising restrictions on worldwide college students.
“I feel we need to follow the topic of the day, which is, like, spaceships, versus, you already know, presidential coverage,” Musk stated.
Pogue seemed stunned, replying, “Oh, okay, I used to be instructed, ‘Something’s good.’”
“No,” Musk stated, whereas wanting into the space. “Nicely … no.”
He did, nevertheless, touch upon the controversy round his Division of Authorities Effectivity, which has been making aggressive cuts throughout federal companies, and which Musk complained had turn out to be “the whipping boy for all the pieces.”
“If there was some lower, actual or imagined, everybody would blame DOGE,” he stated.
Musk additionally steered that he’s “somewhat caught in a bind” on the subject of the Trump administration, the place “I don’t need to converse out towards the administration, however I additionally don’t need to take accountability for all the pieces the administration’s doing.”
Pogue’s interview was performed earlier than SpaceX’s Starship check flight on Tuesday, which noticed the ship efficiently launch however lose management on reentry. Requested whether or not there’s something linking his numerous corporations — along with SpaceX, there’s Tesla (which faces ongoing anti-Musk protests), xAI and X (previously Twitter), Neuralink, and The Boring Firm — Musk replied, “I suppose you would consider the companies as issues that enhance the possible trajectory of civilization.”
On the time, Musk was supposedly pulling again from his authorities work however stated he would stay concerned for a “day or two” per week. He instructed Pogue, “DOGE goes to proceed, simply as a lifestyle. And I’ll have some participation in that, however as I’ve stated publicly, my focus needs to be on the businesses at this level.”
Pogue famous that after their dialog, an interview clip of Musk’s feedback criticizing the Trump-backed funds invoice drove a information cycle of their very own — and shortly after, Musk stated he was ending his time as a particular authorities worker. Trump, nevertheless, subsequently stated Musk is “not likely leaving.”
