On this week’s episode of Elon, Inc., host Max Chafkin and Bloomberg News reporter Ed Ludlow discuss their cover story for the latest issue of Bloomberg Businessweek. Their reporting details the ways in which Elon Musk’s companies—specifically Tesla, SpaceX and xAI—are struggling in the wake of his feud with President Donald Trump.

Chafkin and Ludlow break down where each of these companies stands now, and analyze how investors are rationalizing their continued investments in the multibillionaire’s sprawling endeavors.

Then Bloomberg News technology editor Sarah Frier takes over the hosting chair to interview Wall Street Journal reporter Dana Mattioli about Musk’s many offspring, including his custody agreements and pro-natalist leanings. The conversation is the second in a summer series in which our Elon, Inc. panelists interview Musk reporters from outside Bloomberg about stories we wished we wrote first.

Mattioli explains Musk’s stated desire to populate Mars and further populate Earth, how he’s using his social media platform to recruit mothers and why observers think it’s likely he has more than the 14 kids that are publicly known. She also digs into how Musk’s fixer Jared Birchall has interacted with the mothers of Musk’s children, including Ashley St. Clair, whose public child support battle with Musk shed light on Birchall’s tactics.

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On this week’s episode of Elon, Inc., host Max Chafkin and Bloomberg News reporters Dana Hull and Kurt Wagner chat about Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI. The endeavor just debuted its new Grok 4 model on the heels of an antisemitism controversy, but Musk sees a brighter future for his creation, claiming it might discover “new physics” one day. Before that happens, though, the buzziest feature of the model is its AI companions—including a pigtailed and corseted anime character.

Musk introduced Grok 4 as news dropped that one of his other companies, SpaceX, would invest in xAI, and that another company he happens to run, Tesla, might follow suit (pending a shareholder vote). Our guests discuss what exactly it means when a rocket company and a car company invest in another company that’s making AI girlfriends, especially when all those companies happen to be run by the richest man in the world.

Then Wagner takes over the hosting chair to interview New York Times reporter Teddy Schleifer about the role Musk and his Silicon Valley billionaire pals have played in building the Trump administration, starting before the Republican took office. The conversation is the first in a summer series in which our Elon, Inc. panelists interview Musk reporters about the stories we’re jealous we didn’t write first.

Schleifer recounts the weeks following Election Day last year, when Musk embedded himself at Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago in an effort to influence the future president’s plans. As candidates for top cabinet positions began swinging by the Florida club, they found themselves seated across from Musk’s loyal aides. Wagner and Schleifer also discuss the constantly evolving relationship between Musk and Trump, and whether Musk will still be involved in politics when the year comes to a close.

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The day after Grok started spewing antisemitic propaganda, X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced that she's leaving the company. The timing sticks out, although sources says she's been planning an exit for a while. In this emergency episode, Max Chafkin summons Bloomberg's big tech team leader Sarah Frier to chat about Linda's legacy, her possible future plans and the timing of her departure.

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