Elon Musk, “Icarus on the cheap,” burned his wings flying near Trump
Once a powerhouse in Washington, the American tycoon announced he would spend less time in government to focus on Tesla, his ailing company. For ignoring the rules, Musk has ended up becoming a political liability, writes this historian in the columns of the New York Times.
The partnership between the president and the world's richest man is coming to an end. There's clearly one loser in this split, and that's Elon Musk.
His fall from grace was as swift as his rise. Like a discounted Icarus, he took too many risks, which he never understood, and flew too close to the sun. Basking in the halo of his social media superstar status, he remained blind to the reality of his situation until it was too late.
Musk has already signed several lucrative contracts and could land many more, but he leaves Washington with his reputation as a genius jack-of-all-trades in tatters. He used that reputation to boost his companies' stock prices and attract investors hoping to fund his ambitious ventures. Once compared to Marvel superhero Tony Stark, he has become increasingly unpopular. Today, many owners of his once-proud Tesla electric cars are looking to sell them or are sticking apologies on their bumpers. Sales are plummeting.
Musk is certainly not the first mega-rich businessman to arrive in Washington: Gilded Age millionaires, top hats in hand, made every effort to woo the Senate, where laws were made and taxes voted on. With the economic collapse, the New Deal, and the threat of world war, the White House began to play a much larger role in managing the economy, and businessmen began to pay more attention to it. Dozens of them descended on the capital; others entered government. But whatever their positions, they always played by the rules, had limited and clearly defined responsibilities, and, for the most part, kept out of the public eye.
Musk broke with this tradition. No one
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