Elon Musk started the week of March 10 with a friendly sit-down interview on Fox Business. In the interview, Musk talked about his work with the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) and the state of his businesses. Musk’s net worth declined by over $22bn on Monday alone due to a Tesla stock selloff and fierce backlash over his attempts to overhaul the federal government.

Musk answered that he was managing to run his numerous companies with great difficulty when asked about the mounting pressure. The past 10 days have marked several significant setbacks for Musk, including disputes over the threat of trade war, the declining value of Tesla, and intensifying protests. SpaceX has also struggled, with a rocket explosion and a delay in a rescue mission.

Additionally, Musk’s social media platform, X, experienced widespread outages on Monday, which he claimed was due to a “massive cyberattack” traced to Ukraine. Musk is also dealing with increasing pushback over his role at Doge, including a heated exchange with Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State. The White House appears to be endorsing Musk’s businesses to reverse his string of losses.

In response to the backlash against Tesla, Musk is deepening his embrace with the Maga world, including retweeting posts comparing attacks against Tesla vehicles to Kristallnacht, which is a misleading and controversial comparison. The backlash against Tesla does not appear to be slowing down with more protests set for the coming week. Finally, Musk’s political activity is raising questions about whether it is hurting his companies and affecting investor confidence.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/15/elon-musk-stock-tesla-doge-spacex