Elon Musk seems to be copying Donald Trump’s tactics in some ways. Both Musk and the former president seem to be able to avoid getting into trouble for their actions. Supporters of both Musk and Trump are willing to overlook behaviors that might be seen as questionable if done by others.
Elon Musk appears to be learning from Donald Trump’s methods. In the past, Musk mocked Trump for being too old to run for president again, suggesting he retire instead.
Now, it seems Musk is looking at Trump as a role model for managing public relations. He behaves similarly to Trump by declaring victories early, starting disputes, and dealing with controversies.
This strategy seems to be working well for him. For example, Musk prematurely claimed victory in securing his huge pay package, similar to how Trump often declares success ahead of official announcements.
However, Musk is not without his own problems. Eight former employees of SpaceX sued him, claiming they were fired unfairly for speaking out about a difficult work environment in 2022. The Wall Street Journal also reported allegations that Musk crosses boundaries with female employees, including asking one to have his children and then denying her a promotion when she refused.
Despite these issues, Musk, like Trump, seems to be unaffected by scandals. Both have support from influential figures in Silicon Valley. Even when Musk faces criticism, his fans continue to support him.
Following Trump’s playbook hasn’t hurt Musk’s plans to earn a large amount of money either. Shareholders seem willing to overlook some Trump-like behaviors, such as Musk’s disputes with other tech leaders.
For instance, Musk has had a long-standing feud with Mark Zuckerberg, challenging the Meta CEO to a fight. Recently, Musk even sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, although he later dropped the lawsuit.
Musk has also been open about his use of ketamine, a drug he takes occasionally. When questioned about it, Musk suggested that Wall Street doesn’t mind.
Supporters of Musk and Trump seem more forgiving of their actions than they might be of others in the public eye.
Business Insider reached out to Musk’s representatives for comment, but they did not respond immediately, as the request was made outside regular working hours.
