Elon Musk’s interview with CBS Sunday Morning appeared to get off to a clumsy begin, as reporter David Pogue requested the SpaceX CEO about his ideas on his ally Donald Trump’s insurance policies, together with rising restrictions on worldwide college students.
“I believe we need to keep on with the topic of the day, which is, like, spaceships, versus, you understand, presidential coverage,” Musk mentioned.
Pogue seemed shocked, replying, “Oh, okay, I used to be advised, ‘Something’s good.’”
“No,” Musk mentioned, whereas trying into the gap. “Properly … no.”
He did, nonetheless, touch upon the controversy round his Division of Authorities Effectivity, which has been making aggressive cuts throughout federal companies, and which Musk complained had change into “the whipping boy for every part.”
“If there was some reduce, actual or imagined, everybody would blame DOGE,” he mentioned.
Musk additionally steered that he’s “a little bit caught in a bind” in the case of the Trump administration, the place “I don’t need to communicate out towards the administration, however I additionally don’t need to take duty for every part the administration’s doing.”
Pogue’s interview was carried out earlier than SpaceX’s Starship check flight on Tuesday, which noticed the ship efficiently launch however lose management on reentry. Requested whether or not there’s something linking his varied corporations — along with SpaceX, there’s Tesla (which faces ongoing anti-Musk protests), xAI and X (previously Twitter), Neuralink, and The Boring Firm — Musk replied, “I assume you may consider the companies as issues that enhance the possible trajectory of civilization.”
On the time, Musk was supposedly pulling again from his authorities work however mentioned he would stay concerned for a “day or two” per week. He advised Pogue, “DOGE goes to proceed, simply as a lifestyle. And I’ll have some participation in that, however as I’ve mentioned publicly, my focus must be on the businesses at this level.”
Pogue famous that after their dialog, an interview clip of Musk’s feedback criticizing the Trump-backed price range invoice drove a information cycle of their very own — and shortly after, Musk mentioned he was ending his time as a particular authorities worker. Trump, nonetheless, subsequently mentioned Musk is “not likely leaving.”
