Elon Musk is back to his relentless 24/7 grind, sleeping at the office to drive Tesla, xAI, SpaceX, and 𝕏 forward, with a critical Starship launch on the horizon. Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum with Bloomberg’s Michelle Hussein, Musk laid bare his intense schedule, juggling cross-country travel, high-stakes projects, and a new role as a government advisor.
“I travel a lot… I was in Silicon Valley yesterday morning, I was in LA yesterday evening, I’m in Austin right now, I’ll be in DC tomorrow,”
Musk said, highlighting the whirlwind pace of his week. His all-in commitment underscores his mission to revolutionize electric vehicles, space exploration, and artificial intelligence.
Musk’s schedule is packed, balancing corporate leadership with advisory duties for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which takes one to two days a week.
“It’s about one to two days a week on my government work,”
He confirmed. Despite this, his focus remains on his companies. Tesla has faced headwinds in Europe, where April sales dropped, but Musk dismissed concerns about declining demand.
“Tesla’s sales are doing well at this point, we don’t anticipate any meaningful sales shortfall,”
Musk Stated, pointing to the company’s market cap surpassing a trillion dollars as proof of investor confidence. He acknowledged polarized reactions to his public persona, with some customers shunning Tesla over his politics, while others are drawn to it.
“We’ve lost some sales perhaps on the left, but we’ve gained them on the right,”
Musk noted.
When asked about his long-term commitment to Tesla, Musk was resolute, planning to stay as CEO for at least five years, provided he maintains sufficient voting control.
“A sufficient voting control such that I cannot be ousted by activist investors is what matters to me,”
He emphasized, downplaying the role of his compensation in his decision. Addressing attacks on Tesla showrooms and threats against him, Musk condemned the violence.
“It’s not fine to resort to violence and hanging someone in effigy and death threats. That’s obviously not OK,”
He said, vowing that those responsible would face justice.
At SpaceX, Musk’s ambitions are sky-high. The company dominates the space launch industry, handling 90% of the mass launched into orbit this year. Starlink’s satellite constellation powers nearly 80% of active satellites, delivering high-speed internet globally.
“The single biggest thing you can do to lift people out of poverty is giving them an Internet connection,”
Elon Musk said, crediting Starlink with improving lives in 130 countries. While SpaceX has no plans to enter the weapons business, Musk hinted at a possible Starlink IPO in the future, though he’s wary of public company burdens.
“I’m in no rush to go public,”
He admitted.
Musk’s xAI is advancing with Grok in AI, but his legal battle with OpenAI, which he co-founded, remains contentious. He accused OpenAI of abandoning its non-profit, open-source roots for profit-driven motives.
“I came up with the name OpenAI as an open-source and non-profit… Now they’re trying to change that for their own financial benefit,”
Musk said, comparing it to a conservation group turning into a lumber company. He’s determined to pursue the lawsuit, undeterred by recent encounters with OpenAI’s Sam Altman.
Given his companies ‘ federal contracts, Musk’s DOGE role has raised questions about conflicts of interest. He rejected these concerns, stressing transparency.
“Any action that is as a function of DOGE is posted to the DOGE website and to the DOGE.gov or at those handle on the 𝕏 platform,”
He said DOGE has identified $170 billion in potential savings, with Musk’s $2 trillion target hinged on congressional support. On AI regulation, he advocated for a balanced approach.
“There should be some referees on the field… but you shouldn’t have so many referees that you can’t kick the ball,”
He explained that he supported a light-touch AI regulator while criticizing overregulation in other industries.