Kara Swisher on the Radicalization of Elon Musk | The Ezra Klein Show

332,600 views Feb 8, 2025 The Ezra Klein Show

Elon Musk has been on a slash-and-burn tear through the federal government — gaining access to I.T. systems, dismantling U.S.A.I.D. and unleashing a firehose of attacks on his platform, X, accusing the bureaucracy of various conspiratorial crimes.

As this all unfolds before our eyes, it’s hard to believe that Musk, not that long ago, was a conventional Obama-era liberal. How did a guy who cared about climate change and going to Mars, whose companies were buoyed by government largess, become Donald Trump’s most unapologetic soldier? What does he hope to do with all this power? What does Musk want?

Kara Swisher has been reporting on Musk for decades and is one of the great tech reporters of our age. She hosts the podcasts “On With Kara Swisher” and “Pivot,” with Scott Galloway, and is the author of “Burn Book: A Tech Love Story.”

This episode contains strong language.

0:00 Intro

2:06 Catching up

2:27 Elon Musk and D.O.G.E.

10:21 What Musk wants

12:03 Musks' radicalization

28:13 Twitter acquisition

35:58 Silicon Valley vibe shift

42:53 Governmental reform

1:05:18 Book Recommendations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xXLycFv5Gc