WEBVTT - The Year in Elon, Part One 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:09.600 Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. 0:00:14.320 --> 0:00:17.239 Well, Elon Musk is now the richest person on the planet. 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:20.440 More than half the satellites in space are owned and 0:00:20.520 --> 0:00:25.560 controlled by one man, starting his own artificial intelligence company. 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:27.680 Well, he's a legitimate super genius. 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:28.760 I mean legitimate. 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:29.280 He says. 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:31.920 He's always voted for Democrats, but this year it will 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:32.360 be different. 0:00:32.440 --> 0:00:33.400 He'll vote Republican. 0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:36.159 There is a reason the US government is so reliant 0:00:36.200 --> 0:00:36.560 on him. 0:00:36.760 --> 0:00:39.400 Alon Musk is a scam artist and he's done nothing. 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:43.720 Anything he does is fascinating the people. 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:53.239 Welcome to Elon Inc. I'm Max Schafkin. 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:54.720 It's the holiday season. 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:58.760 Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and here at Elon Inc. 0:00:59.000 --> 0:01:02.600 We have a very special two part set of shows 0:01:02.600 --> 0:01:03.480 for you today. 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:06.240 And so you know, it's mid December when we're recording. 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:09.440 This is the first of two. It's our episode of reflection. 0:01:09.640 --> 0:01:14.600 Think of this as your pre Christmas pre Honika ritual. 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:17.640 You can gather with your family and think about the 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:20.440 year that was for Elon Musk and when we think 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:22.800 about it ourselves, to be honest, an enormous year, an 0:01:22.800 --> 0:01:25.679 epic year both for the guy and also for this 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:28.440 podcast because we've been following it. The next week, we're 0:01:28.440 --> 0:01:31.119 gonna kick back for New Year's We're gonna crack open 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:35.200 some champagne, eat some oysters, and play some games as 0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:37.280 we look forward to twenty twenty five. 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:39.360 To do that, we've got some of. 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:43.119 Our heavy hitters, Dana Hull, Bloomberg's Elon Musk reporter, and 0:01:43.200 --> 0:01:48.680 Sarah Fryar, the big tech boss here at Bloomberg News. Dana, Sarah, Welcome, 0:01:48.800 --> 0:01:50.320 Hey Max, Thanks for having me. 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:51.800 Okay, and I'm so excited about this. 0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:54.800 We have a special guest, Ryan Broderick, who runs the 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:57.920 newsletter Garbage Day, which I never miss and I know 0:01:57.960 --> 0:01:59.720 a lot of people on this podcast are big fans 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:04.080 of and the podcast Panic World, which is about basically 0:02:04.240 --> 0:02:08.799 Internet related moral panics. Ryan is an expert in all 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:11.959 things digital culture and kind of the way that intersects 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:12.560 with business. 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:15.440 Ryan, thank you for being on Elon Inc. Thank you. 0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:16.640 I'm for saying such as I say. 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:19.600 Is it very uncomfortable? It's all true, and you know, 0:02:20.160 --> 0:02:21.120 happy holidays. 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:24.040 Just before we get into the meat of the show, 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:26.560 I just wanted to kind of get your perspective. 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:27.120 I mean, you're. 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:29.720 Writing I sort of quickly went through the last few 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:33.560 episodes of Panic World, you know, mister Beast QAnon something 0:02:33.600 --> 0:02:37.120 called perfume talk and the possibility I guess that's it's 0:02:37.160 --> 0:02:40.160 moving to the right politically, which I didn't know was possible. 0:02:40.360 --> 0:02:42.560 But I'm kind of curious, like, in this kind of 0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:46.840 world of digital culture and influence, the kind of world 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:50.520 you live in, how where does Elon Musk kind of 0:02:50.560 --> 0:02:52.280 figure and how is that changing. 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:54.080 I like to think of him as sort of like 0:02:54.160 --> 0:02:58.000 the last germaining right wing influencer that has the juice. 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:01.880 A lot of them have lost a lot of influence because, 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:04.640 like you know, YouTube is changing up his algorithm. Facebook 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:06.120 isn't as powerful as it used to be as. 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:07.200 A publishing platform. 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:10.240 But Elon Musk, because he owns x and because he 0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:12.600 has the money to kind of do ridiculous stuff NonStop 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:14.359 and say crazy things and all the rest of it, 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:17.399 he can still command attention and that makes him very valuable. 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:19.360 So I sort of see him as sort of like 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:21.920 the mega node for the right wing Internet right now. 0:03:22.000 --> 0:03:25.200 That's cool, well, and I assume you're paying attention to 0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:28.120 him to some extent, although I'm guessing maybe not as 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:30.120 closely as the rest of us are or the rest 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:32.080 of us on this podcasting it for a living. 0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:34.280 Yeah, I know, I can consider him one of my 0:03:34.520 --> 0:03:36.480 you know, one of the many cast of characters on 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:39.040 the internet, but he's I try to keep him separate 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:40.839 to make sure, like you know, I'm not writing about 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:41.400 him too much. 0:03:41.640 --> 0:03:44.440 So like what would be like a non political equivalent 0:03:44.920 --> 0:03:46.120 in that cast of characters. 0:03:46.400 --> 0:03:48.160 Okay, you know how like in the early Game of 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:50.600 Thrones episodes, Danny's like off in the desert doing like 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:52.760 her own thing. I start to treat him like that, 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:55.320 like he's always got something going on, and sometimes it matters, 0:03:55.640 --> 0:03:58.160 but I try to separate him out from the larger mix. 0:03:58.480 --> 0:04:01.960 Okay, got it? The Narest Mother of Dragons, Yes to 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:04.000 the Game of Drones. That is our. 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:08.200 World, all right? So okay, first question and listeners. These 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:10.200 were submitted and I have them in front of me 0:04:10.280 --> 0:04:12.240 and we're gonna we're gonna go through them. But basically, 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:16.599 we asked Dana, Sarah, and Ryan and me to answer 0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:18.400 a series of questions looking back in the year, and 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:20.960 the first one was, and Dana, I'm gonna start with 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:25.359 you a one word description of Elon's year twenty twenty 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:29.039 four in a word go epic. I want you to 0:04:29.040 --> 0:04:31.880 tell me how it was more epic than previous years, 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:33.760 because like every year is an epic year for Elon, 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:37.040 So like why why why was this year particularly epic? 0:04:37.360 --> 0:04:39.200 Yeah, And I feel and I feel like I'm parroting 0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:42.279 the language that he himself loves to use, Like epic 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:45.360 is not a word that like I floor throw around, 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:48.479 but it's one that Elon likes a lot. But by 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:53.120 all measures, he had an incredible year, Like Tesla's stock is, 0:04:53.480 --> 0:04:55.679 like the market cap of Tesla is above one point 0:04:55.680 --> 0:04:59.440 three trillion. SpaceX's evaluation is now three hundred and fifty billion, 0:04:59.480 --> 0:05:02.679 making it the most valuable private company in the world. 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:06.240 He is by far the wealthiest person, like wealthier than ever, 0:05:06.440 --> 0:05:09.920 Like he's now above four hundred billion, and his companies 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:13.560 are doing well. And then aside from all that, he 0:05:13.600 --> 0:05:16.640 basically is the de facto vice president. He helped elect 0:05:16.720 --> 0:05:19.760 President Trump, he went all in, he campaigned for Trump 0:05:19.760 --> 0:05:23.880 all across Pennsylvania. He's now basically enmeshed at mar A 0:05:23.960 --> 0:05:26.400 Lago has the year of the president, has been tapped 0:05:26.400 --> 0:05:29.520 to kind of lead this Doge Commission. Like he's at 0:05:29.520 --> 0:05:32.680 that kind of height of his wealth, his political influence, 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:35.920 and his corporate power, because you know, this has also 0:05:36.000 --> 0:05:39.039 been a year where a lot of his rivals have 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:42.360 had really crappy years. Boeing has had a horrible year. 0:05:42.880 --> 0:05:45.360 General Motors just basically announced that they are no longer 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:48.800 pursuing their ROBOTAXI, like all of his competitors in the 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:52.200 business arena have had really hard years, and his businesses 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:53.279 are actually doing pretty well. 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:56.720 Dan, I had almost the same answer as I wrote, triumph, 0:05:56.920 --> 0:06:01.159 maybe a little less. Elanie Sarah, you also so kind 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:03.400 of we're in the same zone right well. 0:06:03.600 --> 0:06:06.400 I picked the word political, and it also is a 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:10.480 reflection of just how I looked back on this Elon Inc. 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:14.400 Project when this started. When we were devising this podcast, 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:17.280 it was like around the time that everyone was so 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:21.920 surprised that the Starling satellites had become this tool in 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:25.200 the war in Ukraine and Musk had the power to 0:06:25.320 --> 0:06:27.800 turn off or on the Internet in a war zone, 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:31.080 and that was kind of a moment for us realizing, Wow, 0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:34.680 this guy is like, this guy's hands on the on 0:06:34.920 --> 0:06:37.479 like the pulse of geopolitics right now, Like he can 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:40.839 really make things happen, and what does that mean? For 0:06:41.200 --> 0:06:44.480 the richest man in the world, who owns a social network, 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:47.920 who owns you know, this satellite company and this very 0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:51.200 influential car company, and the only means for the US 0:06:51.279 --> 0:06:54.360 government to get to space. Like what does it mean 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:57.240 that he has this power? And I think that this 0:06:57.480 --> 0:07:00.760 year is like, oh, it means he can help can 0:07:00.800 --> 0:07:03.440 a president elected and then like sit with him at 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:06.760 every meeting as he's building his cabinet and you know, 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:11.720 basically shadow him in a typical Elon Musk launch mode. 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:15.120 So yeah, extremely political is what I would say about 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:15.720 Musks here. 0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:19.320 Okay, Ryan, what about you? I cheated light on me. 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:21.760 I put four words down. I believe I wrote exactly 0:07:21.800 --> 0:07:25.160 let's see here, dumb and unfortunately successful. 0:07:25.840 --> 0:07:27.520 Okay, so you cheated. 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:31.600 But actually I'm intrigued by this answer, just because I 0:07:31.600 --> 0:07:36.320 feel like you can successful as difficult to quibble with unfortunately, 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:38.880 like that's a question of opinion. 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:41.920 But I'm curious, like why you said dumb. So I 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:42.360 sort of. 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:46.280 See this whole year as a massive existential gamble for Musk, 0:07:46.480 --> 0:07:49.520 both in terms of let's say, you know, let's say 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:51.560 if the Harris team had won, Like, is he looking 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:53.600 at a lot more scrutiny on his various businesses and 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:55.480 how they all interact. Is he looking at more sort 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:58.760 of crackdowns on X and how that operates all the 0:07:58.800 --> 0:07:59.120 rest of it? 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:00.520 Right, And it fell like. 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:02.960 You know, mask off this year of saying like I'm 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:05.120 going to endorse Donald Trump because he's always been this 0:08:05.160 --> 0:08:07.440 sort of political chameleon. So in a lot of ways, 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:09.200 I sort of saw him putting all of his chips 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:10.640 on the table this year and saying I'm going to 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:12.840 get behind this. And I think if Trump had not won, 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:15.600 we'd be having a very different conversation about like his 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:19.000 perceived success this year, because I think there'd be more 0:08:19.080 --> 0:08:20.679 questions about what might happen next. 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:22.760 I totally agree with you. 0:08:22.840 --> 0:08:26.040 But Trump did win, and he won all seven swing states, 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:28.800 and they also won the Senate and Congress, so now 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:31.960 they've got a trifecta in the Supreme Court. So whether 0:08:32.040 --> 0:08:33.920 it was dumb to put the chips all in or not, 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:36.520 it was like a big bet that has paid off 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:39.120 for musks so far. Like, are you saying that it's 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:41.760 dumb because it was just dumb to make such a 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:44.920 big bet, or that it's dumb because there are risks 0:08:45.000 --> 0:08:46.840 to this bet that haven't played out yet. 0:08:47.000 --> 0:08:49.599 I think that there are unknown risks. I also just 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:51.840 think much of what he does publicly is dumb, but 0:08:51.840 --> 0:08:54.800 that's just my personal opinion, like the doge naming of 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:57.600 the Department of Government Efficiency and sort of his various 0:08:57.640 --> 0:08:59.880 viral stunts that I think he uses to kind of 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:02.960 ask his political moves. This year, it felt like he 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:04.200 kind of aligned them all at once. 0:09:04.559 --> 0:09:05.280 I spent a lot of the. 0:09:05.320 --> 0:09:09.120 Year, like Ryan, thinking that Elon was making mistakes and 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:12.440 that this was a huge This was like obviously a 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:14.960 big bet, but a bet with a lot of risk, 0:09:15.080 --> 0:09:17.440 and I think there are still risks. 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:18.240 And it's like very. 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:20.200 Easy now we can talk when we get to predictions, 0:09:20.240 --> 0:09:21.560 we can talk about this. But like it's very easy 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:25.280 to see, you know, stock is at whatever, over four hundred. 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:28.000 It's like nearly twice what it was not too long ago, 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:30.360 and and and he's at the Year of Trump. But 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:32.640 like it could definitely fall apart. All right, But we're 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:36.920 segueing into pretty pretty nicely into the biggest story of 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:40.360 the year. And really there's only one answer, and I 0:09:40.360 --> 0:09:42.400 think we had to listen to the answer before we 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:43.480 hear from all of us. 0:09:46.760 --> 0:09:52.559 Elan, Eileen, Elon, Elan, Elon, Elon, Elan, Elan Elan. 0:09:54.640 --> 0:09:56.760 And we all in one way or another brought up 0:09:56.840 --> 0:10:00.800 something around Trump and Elon Musk, but ever had slightly 0:10:00.840 --> 0:10:04.679 different ideas about what specifically, what part of this was 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:07.880 the biggest Sarah, why don't you lay your first one 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:08.560 on us? 0:10:08.960 --> 0:10:11.800 I think it was when he decided to form a 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:15.480 pack and donate millions to Trump, And in the beginning 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:18.240 he was sort of warm about it. He was like, yeah, 0:10:18.280 --> 0:10:21.800 forty five million to Trump, and then he was like, 0:10:21.840 --> 0:10:24.400 I didn't promise forty five million. We had this debate 0:10:24.520 --> 0:10:26.640 is like is he actually going to spend that much? 0:10:27.120 --> 0:10:28.760 And then you know it would turn out to be 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:31.920 upwards of two hundred and fifty million. He really went 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:35.800 all in and so deciding to get financially involved. Even 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:38.240 though that amount of money for him is like not 0:10:38.400 --> 0:10:41.520 much when you've got four hundred billion, it was extremely 0:10:41.600 --> 0:10:43.840 significant in the race. And he also used it in 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:46.880 a way that surprised us because he was going after 0:10:46.920 --> 0:10:53.719 the base. He was targeting people who already were in 0:10:53.760 --> 0:10:56.240 favor of Trump, just kind of a get out the 0:10:56.320 --> 0:11:00.240 vote effort, which is very different than what a lot 0:11:00.240 --> 0:11:03.800 of campaigns do in trying to like convince independence, convince 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:07.079 swing voters. It was like, yeah, you know, if you're 0:11:07.080 --> 0:11:09.160 a white man, gets the polls. 0:11:09.640 --> 0:11:09.920 Yeah. 0:11:10.040 --> 0:11:12.600 I mean, I remember there was this whole thing in 0:11:12.640 --> 0:11:14.600 the middle of the year where we weren't sure if 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:17.560 he really was giving money, and like the Wall Street 0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:21.760 Journal in Bloomberg had reported forty five million dollars a 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:25.200 month and Elon was denying it. I mean, did you Ryan, 0:11:25.360 --> 0:11:27.640 I'm curious, did you think he was going to go 0:11:28.280 --> 0:11:31.960 like rewind to July or whatever when this reporting started 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:32.440 coming out. 0:11:32.520 --> 0:11:33.839 Do you think he was going to play such a 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:36.120 big role, like financially, I did not. 0:11:36.559 --> 0:11:39.160 The question that I've had about his political involvement all 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:43.720 year is would he have donated as much if X 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:47.920 was as socially powerful as Twitter used to be? And 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:49.800 so I sort of view it through that lens where 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:51.720 you know, a lot of his dealings with the pack 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:54.040 and the giveaways and sort of dumping money into the 0:11:54.080 --> 0:11:56.480 Trump campaign. I do wonder if that was this sort 0:11:56.520 --> 0:11:58.200 of kind of make up for the fact that like 0:11:58.400 --> 0:12:00.160 X doesn't really have the reach it used to, and 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:00.760 so because he. 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:01.640 Wanted to be a player. 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:03.920 But I did not think it would be as extensive 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:04.400 as it was. 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:12.840 Maybe there are three aspects of this of his political 0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:15.800 engagement this year, and like one of them Sarah just 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:19.760 mentioned is the money and this pack. Another one was 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:22.760 x which Ryan just brought up. And then there was 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:27.920 a third which was essentially his campaigning and Dana, that 0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:29.640 was for you, right, Yeah, I. 0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:33.280 Wrote electing Trump because I think you know, in politics, 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:35.880 everyone always talks about the October surprise, and for me, 0:12:36.040 --> 0:12:41.240 the October surprise was how publicly Elon campaigned for Trump. 0:12:41.240 --> 0:12:43.079 And you look at the month of October, just look 0:12:43.080 --> 0:12:45.560 at the calendar. He goes to Butler, the site of 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:48.760 the first assassination attempt, and is jumping around on stage. 0:12:49.360 --> 0:12:53.240 He holds a series of town halls across Pennsylvania from 0:12:53.280 --> 0:12:57.439 like Lancaster to Pittsburgh. He does this million dollar giveaway, 0:12:57.480 --> 0:12:59.840 which is just basically a way to get free media. 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:02.240 The fact that he's doing this and gets people who 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:06.160 maybe wouldn't normally have signed his petition to sign his petition. 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:09.520 Then he uses that list to actually get people motivated 0:13:09.559 --> 0:13:11.800 to go to the polls. And then you know, the 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:14.040 big coda of the month, Madison Square Garden, You and 0:13:14.120 --> 0:13:17.320 I were sitting there together and there speaker after speaker 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:19.080 after speaker, and we were like, oh my god, when 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:22.000 is Elon gonna speak? And then it was like holy cow, 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:24.960 like JD. Vance speaks, and then there's like other speakers, 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:28.120 and then there's Elon, and then Elon introduces Milania and 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:30.959 then like Malania introduces her husband. Like he had top 0:13:31.040 --> 0:13:35.240 billing at like the magifest of the year. He was 0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:39.800 fully like the most powerful surrogate Trump could have asked 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:43.040 for in an election that largely hinged on voter frustration 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:48.000 about the economy and inflation and immigration. You have Musk 0:13:48.400 --> 0:13:50.520 who has been sounding all of those same notes for 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:54.520 months now, like on the trail, like lending credence and 0:13:54.600 --> 0:13:59.280 lending his personality and his vibe to the campaign. Like 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:00.679 it was just sort of the best thing that the 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:03.000 Trump campaign could have ever asked for, and it really 0:14:03.000 --> 0:14:05.000 made a difference in all of those swing states. I mean, 0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:07.280 his pack knocked on eleven million doors. 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:09.680 I answered this question very similar to you. 0:14:09.720 --> 0:14:13.120 I was like, my biggest thing was the Butler rally, 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:15.480 and really the rallies. And now as we're talking through this, 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:17.199 I don't know if I was actually answering it as 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:21.040 like Elon's biggest story or my biggest story was God 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:25.000 the Madison Square Garden rally, Like these these incredible shows 0:14:25.160 --> 0:14:28.160 and the way that he put himself in the middle 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:30.880 of it and in the way, you know, we made 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:33.680 this mini series sit as an Elon and and talk. 0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:36.040 We talked to this historian. We're asking him, like, what 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:39.400 what is different about Elon Musk versus other rich guys. 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:42.400 And the thing he said is like the campaigning, Like 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:43.840 like this is a guy who's doing it out in 0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:46.960 the open rather than you know, like some like Shelle 0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:50.720 Nagelson just writing a check and then essentially disappearing. Ryan, 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:53.480 you actually had sort of an out of the box 0:14:53.520 --> 0:14:56.240 idea here for the biggest Elon story of the year. 0:14:56.480 --> 0:14:58.880 Yeah, I mean I zeroed in on like the new 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:01.840 information that's currently come o out about Elon Musk's involvement 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:06.120 with RBG Pack, which was sort of this superback funding, 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:08.480 like a dark social campaign to kind of muddy the 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:11.640 waters around abortion rights. And it kind of comes back 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:13.360 to this idea that I had mentioned slightly earlier, which 0:15:13.400 --> 0:15:16.360 is that I think this year part of Elon Musk's 0:15:16.400 --> 0:15:18.080 big gamble and part of his like sort of like 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:22.840 push for a political power was making X feel valuable, 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:25.120 even though you know, anyone who has ever been on 0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:27.440 it can tell you it's not nearly as powerful as 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:30.360 it used to be. And so my major question throughout 0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:33.400 the entire election is, Okay, if the conversations aren't happening 0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:35.120 on what used to be Twitter, where are they happening? 0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:38.080 How are people getting informed about the election? Is Elon 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:40.520 Musk connected in any way to that? And it seems 0:15:40.520 --> 0:15:43.200 like yes, he was. And I find that to be 0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:45.880 very interesting that he is. He is clearly involved in 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:48.640 other ways that we weren't aware of, and so I 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:51.840 find that under reported and sort of a curiosity. 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:54.200 That's a really great point. And we also don't know 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:57.000 what other dark money is slashing around. I mean that's 0:15:57.040 --> 0:15:59.960 the whole thing about dark money, Like it's not really traceable, 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:03.760 and thanks to Citizens United and so many other court cases, like, 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:06.720 he could have put way more money in in other 0:16:06.760 --> 0:16:08.040 ways that we will never know. 0:16:08.760 --> 0:16:11.520 I think it's interesting too that you think that this 0:16:11.680 --> 0:16:14.960 is kind of to make up for the irrelevance of X, 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:21.080 because in Elon's mind it probably still is quite relevant 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:26.320 because it's this like echo chamber for the things he 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:26.920 cares about. 0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:29.560 Yeah, I got to stop. Actually, I'm glad Sarah brought 0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:31.800 that up. Like, do you think that Do you think 0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:34.640 he thinks that it's successful? I think it is successful. 0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:37.960 Do like, like I think that X is more relevant 0:16:38.200 --> 0:16:43.360 than it was a year ago? Yeah? No, really, that's why. 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:45.720 And I guess the reason I would say that is 0:16:46.000 --> 0:16:48.840 it never had huge reach Twitter. I'm never right and 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:51.040 and but what it has now. 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:54.800 And maybe there was a moment like in twenty eleven 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:58.240 or something when it was like you know, like when 0:16:58.240 --> 0:17:00.880 the Arab Spring or whatever was playing out a next 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:03.160 where maybe that was a higher level of relevance than 0:17:03.160 --> 0:17:05.520 it has today. But I mean it is at the 0:17:05.560 --> 0:17:08.720 center of conservative politics. Like it is where like the 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:14.720 entire it's where conservative lawmakers are talking to supporters. It's 0:17:14.760 --> 0:17:16.960 where like memes are bubbling up on the right. It's 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:20.280 like what it was in twenty ten or twenty eleven, 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:23.240 but just on the right. And I think that is actually, 0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:25.360 in certain ways, like an achievement. 0:17:25.680 --> 0:17:26.320 That's interesting. 0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:29.520 I don't disagree that it is clearly the new hub 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:32.360 for like America's right wing throwing stuff at the wall 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:34.800 and seeing what sticks as we saw with Springfield, Ohio. Right, 0:17:34.920 --> 0:17:37.320 they're sort of using it as like a SNL writer's 0:17:37.400 --> 0:17:41.679 room kind of thing. But I do question if it 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:46.479 can accomplish what most of I think Elon Musk's diehard 0:17:46.480 --> 0:17:50.719 supporters want, which is to essentially invade and kind of 0:17:50.760 --> 0:17:54.159 take over and influence what they understand as the media, 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:56.560 and that I think it has become actually less influential, 0:17:56.560 --> 0:17:58.800 and I don't see the same sort of ability for 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:02.040 Twitter to put its thumb on American media and generate 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.520 millions of pieces like it could five or six years ago, 0:18:04.560 --> 0:18:06.320 which is I think why Elon Musk bought it in 0:18:06.320 --> 0:18:08.480 the first place. But I don't disagree with you about 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:11.000 it sort of it becoming this new right wing hob online. 0:18:11.160 --> 0:18:12.920 I also don't think that it's going to be the 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:18.119 Trump megaphone that it was no in the first presidency. 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:20.040 I think we're going to see a very different version 0:18:20.119 --> 0:18:23.640 of it. And part of that is just like main 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:26.760 character theory, like you can only have one main character 0:18:27.440 --> 0:18:29.959 on a social platform, and it was Trump and now 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:32.960 it's Elon And does Trump really want to play that game? 0:18:33.160 --> 0:18:33.280 Oh? 0:18:33.280 --> 0:18:34.719 Their breakups could be spectacular. 0:18:34.720 --> 0:18:37.240 I can't wait Okay, So let's move on to another category, 0:18:37.359 --> 0:18:40.600 Sidekick at a Year. I've asked each of you before 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:43.280 we started taping to send me the name of your 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:46.360 nominee for the Sidekick of the Year, the person who 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:49.520 has been key to Elon Musk's success, who you think 0:18:49.560 --> 0:18:51.480 of when you think of, who is sitting next to 0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:56.040 Elon Musk and offering him support. We've gathered tape from 0:18:56.160 --> 0:18:59.480 each one of these four sidekicks, and I'm going to 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:02.120 play the tape and the people who did not pick 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:04.600 that sidekick are gonna have to try to guess who 0:19:04.640 --> 0:19:07.560 it is. And there's gonna be a scoring system, and 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:10.800 we're gonna carry this through across both shows. If you 0:19:10.840 --> 0:19:13.160 get it right, you get two points. Okay, great, Okay, 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:13.840 I love points. 0:19:13.880 --> 0:19:14.280 All right? 0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:16.760 This is this first clip comes from a very own 0:19:16.840 --> 0:19:20.040