Musk Disappears: How Elon Became an Outsider in the White House and Lost Everything

Just yesterday — a “great engineer” on the throne, today — an engineer they’re trying to forget: Elon Musk has unexpectedly dropped out of American politics and Donald Trump’s feeds. Only a few months ago, it seemed Musk had a VIP pass to the Oval Office and the password to all U.S. government operations. He dismantled agencies, fired officials, and even brought his son to briefings to remind everyone: here he is, the chosen, unelected leader!

But in reality, Silicon Valley and Washington don’t get along so well outside of Twitter threads. Musk promised to save trillions — but only managed to squander his reputation. His Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) never became the Dogecoin of the national budget: the joy was fake, and the savings were overblown.

Adding extra spice to the situation are changes in the top manager’s social life: if Trump used to mention Musk more often than his golf clubs, now “Elon” has vanished from the Truth Social feed as abruptly as from the White House. Political cashback didn’t work: even millions spent supporting Republicans couldn’t save him from silent disregard.

Musk noticed in time: when your ratings fall faster than Tesla shares, it’s time to get back to business (and the X social network). Now, over half his posts are once again about technology and cyber-utopias, not about Trump and DOGE. He’s optimized political ad spending too: if last year Musk invested $290 million in Republicans, now he’s announced a stricter diet for his political expenses.

Behind the scenes at the White House, Musk left not just fired officials and disgruntled union members, but also a whole collection of irritated advisors. His business felt the consequences especially acutely: Tesla, as luck would have it, is losing not only value, but also popularity. Democrats and independents don’t just dislike Musk now — they’re out in the streets with signs against the former icon of progress.

The cherry on top: even in the Republican Party, Musk is now called a political toxin. If his support once promised victory, now it guarantees failure. In Wisconsin, a major political investment ended in fiasco for the Republican candidate, and for Musk — public humiliation in a cheesehead hat.

In the end, Elon returns to his usual business and new startups, while the White House resumes its search for new efficient managers. Politics, as it turns out, doesn’t tolerate foreign algorithms. And not every startup can survive a public crash — even if it’s led by the greatest genius of the century.