Elon Tests Limits of Free Speech while SpaceX Racks Up the Wins | Elon, Inc.

As we chronicle every week on Elon, Inc., Elon Musk contains multitudes. He leads six companies, runs his own social-media platform and is now explicitly working to re-elect Donald Trump as president. This week, we talk about two very different kinds of Musk stories. One is about his behavior on X, and the rare tweet he took down. The other is about how his space company, SpaceX, is having a great run of late, with a successful space walk and a new deal with United Airlines.

Musk has been extremely controversial on his always controversial social media platform. He played a significant role in amplifying lies about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, an issue that continues to have real-world implications, like bomb threats sent to local schools. He also posted and then deleted a tweet wondering why Kamala Harris and Joe Biden haven’t faced assassination attempts.

This use of social media can be construed as reckless but it’s probably not enough to get the attention of law enforcement. The US gives its citizens a lot of leeway on speech, particularly what can be considered political speech.

Talking about Haitian immigrants eating pets isn’t just an accident, though. There is reporting to suggest that it’s a Republican strategy, one in which Musk appears to be participating. Whether it’s a good strategy or not, though, remains to be seen.

Musk’s investment in politics isn’t just as a vocal online supporter of Trump. His PAC has been spending millions on ads and a get-out-the-vote effort and, as Bloomberg reported today, some of that money is going to down-ballot congressional races.

In happier news, Musk’s SpaceX is doing quite well. Last week, the company completed its first commercial “space walk” — one that set a few new records. A billionaire and a SpaceX employee were able to peek their heads out into … space. Maybe not a “walk” per se, but not nothing.

Starlink is in the news too. They have inked a deal with United Airlines to offer internet service; this is no small thing, but it’s also largely untested in commercial airfare.

Internet service is a strategic industry, one that is well-regulated, and Musk has historically bad relations with many regulations. There is much talk about Musk spinning Starlink out in an initial-public offering. The company’s valuation could hinge on how many internet users outside of rural places (where Starlink thrives) want access to the service, and what regulations Musk could face as the service grows.

Elon Musk’s sprawling business empire has granted the billionaire a degree of power and global influence that transcends the industries he’s reshaped. He is the leader of no fewer than six hugely influential companies, spanning electric vehicles to wartime communications, and their innovations could shape the fates of nations.

Musk is polarizing, confounding and inescapable. And he is the biggest business story of our time.

Each week, listen in as host David Papadopoulos convenes a panel of Bloomberg Businessweek journalists who are tracking Musk’s companies and the surprising ways they intersect. They break down the business mogul's latest moves and analyze what they could mean for us all.

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