A joke reveals the "plastic brotherhood"?

"I regret it so much! This segment should never air!" When Musk blurted out this line in front of Trump's daughter-in-law's camera, the air suddenly fell silent for two seconds. The Silicon Valley maverick then shrugged and added, "Just kidding," but the awkward laughter from the audience exposed the cracks in this political and business marriage.

▶ What did the $2.5 billion political gamble achieve?

When Musk poured astronomical sums to support Trump’s re-election, outsiders thought it was a win-win deal—tech moguls wanted policy benefits, and politicians needed financial backing. But reality has plummeted like Tesla’s stock price: tariffs hit auto parts, sales in China dropped by 32%, market value evaporated by $600 billion, and the $160 billion saved in government spending barely covers the losses. Musk publicly stated that "Trump's victory is crucial," while secretly initiating plans to stop the bleeding at the Texas battery factory, a scene akin to a scumbag swearing loyalty while deleting chat records.

▶ White House 996 and Tesla's crisis: The torn Musk

By day, he acts as the government’s "budget-cutting commissioner," demanding civil servants work unpaid overtime and gets criticized on social media; by night, he returns to Tesla as CEO, watching order volumes plummet. This time management master spends only 1-2 days a week on government affairs, and it was revealed that he hasn't even gone to the office since April. More ironically, the government reforms he led were exposed by audits: the alleged savings of $160 billion were mostly due to delayed allocations, and the actual saved amount was insufficient to cover the losses from the shutdown of the Berlin factory.

▶ When boycott movements encounter legal investigations

The "Boycott Tesla" movement initiated by liberals has already right-winged the brand image, and European consumers have collectively turned to local car manufacturers. Democratic lawmakers seized the opportunity to strike, accusing Musk of using his government position to force through the Starlink project, and although there was no solid evidence, it has plunged him into a whirlpool of public opinion. As the board of directors starts looking for a new CEO, this once bold maverick who claimed to colonize Mars probably understands better than anyone what it means that "Earth is too dangerous."