“We are coming for those who organized the violence & death threats against Tesla. Remember this statement” – Elon Musk
Bloomberg: Hello, everyone, and Elon. Welcome to Qatar Economic Forum. How are you?
Elon Musk: Thank you for having me. I’m fine. How are you?
Bloomberg: Very well, thank you. Pleased to have you with us. Some in the audience in Doha have backed you financially over the years. Since 2022, much has changed. You’re running multiple companies and have a government role. I’ll move between topics to cover a lot. That’s okay?
Elon: That’s correct.
Bloomberg: You’re a CEO and government advisor. Tell me about your week. How’s your time split?
Elon: I travel a lot. Silicon Valley yesterday morning, LA evening, Austin now, D.C. tomorrow. Dinner with the President tomorrow night, Cabinet meetings, then back to Silicon Valley Thursday.
Bloomberg: Is it still one to two days a week on government work?
Elon: Yeah, that’s correct.
The Best Leadership: Tesla
Bloomberg: What does that mean for your corporate life? Tesla faced blowback recently. What’s your plan to turn around declining sales, and when will it happen?
Elon: It’s already turned around.
Bloomberg: Evidence? April sales in Europe show significant declines.
Elon: Europe’s our weakest market. We’re strong elsewhere, sales are doing well. No anticipated shortfall. Stock market sees it—over a trillion in market cap. It’s turned around.
Bloomberg: Still down in Europe compared to last year.
Elon: True for all manufacturers. No exceptions.
Bloomberg: You face a significant problem in Europe. Tesla’s aspirational, tied to the climate crisis. Now some drive with stickers saying, “I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy.”
Elon: Some buy because of how they view me. Lost some sales on the left, gained on the right. Sales are strong, no demand issue. Stock price near all-time highs shows things are fine.
Dedication to Tesla’s Master Plan
Bloomberg: How committed are you to Tesla? Will you be CEO in five years?
Elon: Short of dying, yes.
Bloomberg: Does your pay package affect your decision?
Elon: Not for this forum. Compensation should match incredible work. I’m confident Delaware activist rulings won’t affect future compensation.
Bloomberg: The judge struck down your $56 billion package, now valued at $100 billion. Are you relaxed about future pay? Is your Tesla commitment independent of pay?
Elon: No.
Bloomberg: So pay is relevant to your commitment?
Elon: Sufficient voting control to avoid being ousted by activists matters most. It’s about reasonable control, not money, especially with humanoid robots. Let’s move on.
Political Challenges
Bloomberg: Did Tesla’s recent challenges feel personal?
Elon: Yes.
Bloomberg: Did it make you regret your political endeavors?
Elon: I did what was needed. The violent reaction—threats, damage to my companies—was wrong. Those responsible will face justice.
Bloomberg: You’re referring to attacks on Tesla showrooms?
Elon: Burning cars, showrooms—unacceptable. Perpetrators and their funders will go to prison.
Bloomberg: Some in Europe turned against Tesla due to your politics, not violence. Wouldn’t you acknowledge that?
Elon: Objecting politically is fine. Violence, death threats, effigies aren’t. Legacy media justifying it is unconscionable.
SpaceX
Bloomberg: SpaceX. You said at West Point the future of warfare is AI and drones. Do you see SpaceX moving into weaponized drones?
Elon: SpaceX builds rockets, satellites, Internet terminals, not drones. We dominate space launch—90% of mass to orbit this year. Starlink’s 80% of active satellites, providing global connectivity. It lifts people out of poverty. We’ve declined weapons programs.
Vision for Starlink’s Growth
Bloomberg: Will SpaceX or Starlink go public soon?
Elon: Starlink may go public in the future.
Bloomberg: Time frame?
Elon: No rush. Public listing adds overhead, lawsuits. Shareholder derivative lawsuits in the U.S. need reform—they’re absurd.
Bloomberg: Will you push Trump to change this before a Starlink IPO?
Elon: Needs 60 Senate votes. Democrats won’t support it due to plaintiff’s bar influence. Texas’s law helps at the state level.
OpenAI, Grok and AI Regulation: Referees
Bloomberg: AI. You’re in this with Grok, co-founded OpenAI, left, and now have a lawsuit against them. Status?
Elon: I named OpenAI for open-source, nonprofit. Funded $50 million. They’re turning it for-profit, closed-source. Like a nonprofit for the Amazon becoming a lumber company. Lawsuit continues.
Bloomberg: They’ve partly walked back restructuring. No difference to you?
Elon: Just media talk. I’ll see them in court.
Bloomberg: You said in 2022 the U.S. needs an AI regulator like the FDA or FAA. Now you lean toward cutting regulation. Changed your mind?
Elon: No. Regulators are like referees. Too many in old fields like automotive, aerospace. AI is under-regulated—needs a few referees for public safety, not an army.
Transformative Government Advisory Role
Bloomberg: Your government role. You have billions in federal contracts, mostly SpaceX, and DOGE insider knowledge. Conflict of interest?
Elon: No. Advisors with economic interests are common. I have no formal power. If any contract was improper, it’d be front-page news. It’s not.
Bloomberg: Your competitors—Boeing, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab. DOGE’s access to their affairs could give insight. Conflict?
Elon: We review for relevance, value for money. Recommendations go to Secretaries, posted transparently on
doge.gov
, X. No accusations of conflict.
Bloomberg: Starlink’s sought globally, critical in Ukraine. Bloomberg reported South Africa bending rules for Starlink before Ramaphosa’s White House visit. Conflict?
Elon: No. South Africa’s racist laws are the issue. Mandela wanted equality. I can’t operate Starlink there because I’m not black. That’s wrong.
Bloomberg: Looks like they’re bending rules for you.
Elon: Does that seem right to you?
Bloomberg Dodges the Question
Bloomberg: Those rules aimed for economic equality. They’ve found a workaround.
Elon: Answer: Does it seem right?
Specifically, after Bloomberg raises the issue of South Africa bending rules for Starlink, Elon responds: “No, of course not. First of all, you should be questioning why are there racist laws in South Africa? That’s the first problem. That’s what you should be attacking. It’s improper for there to be racist laws in South Africa. The whole idea with what Nelson Mandela, who was a great man, proposed, was that all races should be on an equal footing in South Africa. That’s the right thing to do. Not to replace one set of racist laws with another set of racist laws, which is utterly wrong and improper. So that’s the deal, that all races should be treated equally and there should be no preference given to one or the other. Whereas there are now 140 laws in South Africa that give. That basically give strong preference to, if you’re black, South African and not otherwise. And so now I’m in this absurd situation where I was born in South Africa but cannot get a license to operate in Starlink because I’m not black.”
Bloomberg: Not for me to answer. About DOGE savings—pre-election, you said $2 trillion. Now
doge.gov
says $170 billion. What happened?
Elon: Absurd to expect instant $2 trillion. DOGE advises, doesn’t dictate. Progress is incredible.
Bloomberg: Is $2 trillion still the aim?
Elon: Savings depend on Congress, executive support. DOGE’s progress is excellent.
Bloomberg: You said $4 billion/day, but that won’t reach $2 trillion by July. Still the aim?
“The ability of DOGE to operate is a function of whether the government, and this includes the Congress, is willing to take our advice. We are not the dictators of the government. We are the advisors, and so we can, we can advise, and the progress we’ve made thus far, I think, is incredible. DOGE team has done incredible work, but the magnitude of the savings is proportionate to the support we get from Congress and from the executive branch of the government in general. So we’re not the dictators, we are the advisors. But thus far, as advisors, the DOGE team, to their credit, has made incredible progress.” – Elon
Elon: You’re trapped in a journalist’s dialogue tree. DOGE is advisory, not dictatorial. $170 billion saved is historic. More to come.
“There are 140 laws in South Africa that basically give strong preference to you if you are a Black South African and not otherwise.” – Elon Musk
Championing Efficient Governance
Bloomberg: Cutting waste is good. On USAID, Bill Gates said cuts could cost millions of lives. You called him out. Have you checked the data?
Elon: Gates, tied to Epstein, has no credibility. USAID claims lack evidence. Useful parts transferred to State Department. Much is fraud, graft.
Bloomberg: *PEPFAR, credited with saving 26 million lives, was frozen, partially waived. *UNAIDS says discontinuation could cause 4 million AIDS deaths by 2029. Gates might not be wrong.
Elon: AIDS medication program continues. Your premise is wrong. Another example?
Bloomberg: Not in entirety. UNAIDS lists disrupted services, like Lenacapavir rollout. They’d welcome your review.
Elon: If true, I’ll fix it.
Shaping a Bold Political Future
Bloomberg: Midterms spending. You spent heavily last election. Continue at that level?
Elon: Less in the future.
Bloomberg: Why?
Elon: I’ve done enough. Will spend if needed.
Bloomberg: Influence beyond U.S. How often do you speak to Putin?
Elon: Once, five years ago, on a video call.
Bloomberg: Only time? You mentioned challenging Putin to single combat.
Elon: That was an X post, not a call. Wall Street Journal is nonsense.
Bloomberg: I read widely, giving you a chance to respond. Thanks for clarifying.
Elon: Legacy media lies.
Revolutionizing Technology for Humanity
Bloomberg: Grok said your hardest challenge is managing ventures amid crises. Is this a pivotal year?
Elon: Every year’s pivotal. Starship’s full reusability, Neuralink’s telepathy and blindsight implants, AI superintelligence, Tesla’s unsupervised autonomy—all breakthroughs this year. I’m a technologist first.
Bloomberg: Elon, thank you for joining us at Qatar Economic Forum.
My thoughts
My thoughts are in this thread on X.
*Note (these acronyms were referred to in the interview)
- ITAR: Used once as “ITAR,” referring to International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Not spelled out.
- USAID: Used as “USAID,” referring to United States Agency for International Development. Not spelled out.
- PEPFAR: Used as “PEPFAR,” referring to President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Not spelled out.
- UNAIDS: Used as “UNAIDS,” referring to Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. Not spelled out.
