The Subsidy King, Part 1: From Pretoria to Tesla
Elon Musk sells a self-made story. The record starts in apartheid-era Pretoria, runs through two companies that removed him as CEO, and lands at a car company two other men founded.
The Subsidy King, Part 3: DOGE and the Wood Chipper
Musk ran DOGE while his companies faced $2.37 billion in possible federal penalties, then fed USAID "into the wood chipper." Researchers have tried to count the cost in lives.
The Subsidy King, Part 4: Soft Power, Hard Questions
USAID was America's eyes and ears in the countries it competes for. China moved in after the cuts. Is Musk a foreign agent? The record says no, but shows real risks.
The Subsidy King, Part 5: The Man at Home and the Trillion
His ex-wife, his eldest daughter and the mothers of his children, in their own words. Then $442 million in midterm spending, $225 million in Texas, and a blue Texas anyway.
The Subsidy King, Part 2: The Rescues and the Broken Promises
In 2008, public money kept SpaceX and Tesla alive. Then came the moon program, self-driving that wasn't, and a tunnel under sinkhole country in Nashville.