Something we can expect in 2025 is the possible clash of two of the world’s biggest egos.
These are owned by a reborn president-elect, Donald Trump, and his new best friend and government performance czar, Elon Musk.
If Musk achieved his goal of cutting $2 trillion (£1.6 trillion) from US government spending, using ruthless tactics deployed on Twitter, X, now, could become a hero to both conservative US states and smaller as for those who follow their technological exploits.
Governments around the world must recognize that keeping Musk on their side is as vital as trying to mitigate Trump’s tariff agenda. The Labor Party is not off to a brilliant start when it comes to courting Musk as a businessman or political influencer.
Not sending Musk an invitation to the city’s September investment summit, attended by the good and the great from across the Atlantic, was not a smart move by a Keir Starmer government driven by the growth.
Elon Musk: Not inviting him to the city’s September investment summit was not a smart decision
Indeed, earlier this week Musk, the richest and arguably most tech-savvy person in the world, claimed that “very few” companies want to invest in Britain under the current Starmer administration.
He previously accused the Government of going “totally Stalin” with its attacks on heritage.
Certainly the chances of Britain becoming home to a Tesla gigafactory in Scotland don’t look good.
It is a disgrace for Labor that it has aligned itself so closely with current President Joe Biden’s economy.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves trumpeted ‘securonomics’ was based on the idea that if Britain invested money in the climate change manufacturing revolution, the nation would be less dependent on fossil fuel markets.
Musk will be a force in a climate-skeptical White House, even if through Tesla he has done more than anyone else on the planet to normalize the idea of electric vehicles.
As a regular visitor to Austin – where one of my sons lives and works – it’s impossible not to recognize the impact Musk can have on the economic outlook.
A hike into the hills above the Colorado River, which runs through the Texas state capital, reveals Musk’s 14,400-square-foot Tuscan-style mansion, below.
The billionaire’s family campus, which according to The New York Times is home to three homes and 11 children, is just the tip of the iceberg of his investment. Tesla’s headquarters and tens of thousands of colleagues have been moved to Austin.
Musk’s arrival in the region has accelerated the development of the fastest growing city in the United States.
Once a ranching town, known for its country music, TexMex food, art, low-rise buildings and plenty of neon signs, it is being transformed.
A core of skyscrapers is being surrounded by highways and blocks of luxury apartments, offices and hostels.
In the Texas Hill region next to Austin, where the late President Lyndon Johnson lived, there is also evidence of a Musk acquisition.
The small town of Bastrop, known for its rural festivals and craft brewing, is the hub of another venture. Musk is purchasing farmland on the outskirts of the city to build a new home for The Boring Company.
Musk developed the idea for a company that builds tunnels under cities while sitting in a traffic jam in Los Angeles in 2016.
This $7.5bn (£6bn)-plus company is reinventing public transport in America. Among the projects underway is the 29-mile Vegas Loop Tunnel connecting 51 stations between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Hyperloop is also being planned, which would allow people to travel between destinations in autonomous electric capsules at high speeds. Perhaps the Boring Company could be turned to to solve HS2’s problems?
Musk’s other big success story, beyond Tesla’s $1.3 trillion, is SpaceX. Its Starlink constellation, with about 7,000 small satellites, provides much of the Pentagon’s intelligence on the war between Ukraine and Russia.
It is also developing a new satellite-based commercial and consumer mobile network for Ukraine. Musk is a scoundrel who has the ability to latch onto new technologies and transform them into booming companies.
It is a global investor that can transform national and regional economies. Your political and social opinions may be objectionable.
But alienating this raw capitalist as an insider investor would be an act of self-harm.
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