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An inauguration day primer on leadership from Elon Musk to Donald Trump
On Inauguration Day, individuals all over the world were wondering what the U.S. presidency of Donald Trump will be like. The real estate tycoon, turned reality TV star, turned President of the United States, has met twice with serial tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and would be wise to take some lessons from his leadership model. Musk’s model of leadership has been the driving force behind innovative businesses and he has single-handedly changed how people around the world view energy and transportation.
Explain how your vision can help humankind. Elon Musk’s powerful vision, as articulated in his latest Master Plan, has always contained diverse elements that fit into a larger whole. Musk wants to accelerate the advent of sustainable energy, so that “we can imagine far into the future and life is still good.”
Mr. Trump can capture a somewhat dissatisfied electorate by laying out a vision that benefits all.
Define your terms. “Sustainability” is a word that’s now overused and applied differently, depending on purpose. For Elon Musk, “sustainable” energy is a concept that matters for everyone. He applies it to an energy economy that he argues “will run out of fossil fuels to burn and civilization will collapse.”
If Mr. Trump’s first 100 days resembles his campaign promises, his governmental reform agenda should be clear, concise, and digestible for all the electorate.
Live by what you preach. Musk has often been critiqued for his nontraditional approaches to business, including investments and borrowing. Musk said, “If I ask investors to put money in, then I feel morally I should put money in as well. I should not ask people to eat from the fruit bowl if I have not myself been willing to eat from the fruit bowl.” He is reported to have invested over $100 million of his own money into SpaceX, around $10 million into SolarCity, and $55 million into Tesla Motors, Inc. Even when his companies have experienced volatility, Musk has been resolute in his commitment and self-confident in his decisions.
Never a shrinking wallflower, Mr. Trump, nonetheless, will have to demonstrate that he can empathize with U.S. citizens of all demographics and beliefs by making sacrifices for the good of all.
Be honest and forthright. In order to make his vision of mass produced fully electric cars a reality, in 2010, Tesla was awarded a milestone-based loan, requiring matching private capital obtained via public offering, by the DOE as part of the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program. Tesla repaid the full loan facility with interest in 2013, becoming the only American car company at the time to have fully repaid the government. “I would like to thank the Department of Energy and the members of Congress and their staffs that worked hard to create the ATVM program, and particularly the American taxpayer from whom these funds originate,” said Elon Musk. “I hope we did you proud.”
Mr. Trump, too, should make it a habit to take the high road whenever possible, graciously accepting challenges and thanking individuals across both sides of the U.S. political spectrum for their help.
Do it yourself. Musk’s experience is grounded in his education at the University of Pennsylvania, where, at the age of 24, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the College of Arts and Sciences, and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the Wharton School of Business. He worked toward but did not complete a doctorate in applied physics and materials science at Stanford University. Musk has applied his training as an applied engineer into the systems level of design. He is said to work 100 hours per week, side-by-side with his engineers. He is known to test-drive changes being made to Tesla vehicles before it goes out to customers.
Mr. Trump, who is said to be more of a delegator than a decision-maker, would be well-advised to get into the details of governance, to be less of a talker and more of a doer in the model of Elon Musk.
Back up your policies with peer-reviewed data. Musk argues that the move away from fossil fuels is inevitable, and “virtually all scientists agree that dramatically increasing atmospheric and oceanic carbon levels is insane.” According to NASA, 97% of climate scientists agree that climate-warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities, and most of the leading scientific organizations worldwide have issued public statements endorsing this position.
Mr. Trump should look to multi-layered, data-driven sources as the foundation for his policies in order to best serve U.S. citizens.
Seek out and listen to feedback. Musk looks to other innovators as sources of ideas and systems analysis. He retains contact with former business associates and considers their opinions and approaches against his own. Constantly engaged in self-analysis, Musk reflects on what he has accomplished, the people who have helped along the way, and how the process could be improved.
Mr. Trump would be well-served to slow down and engage in a habit of self-reflection at regular intervals; it is critical for his success as the U.S. president and for the future health of the United States.
Elon Musk
Tesla reveals it is using AI to make factories more sustainable: here’s how
Tesla is using AI in its Gigafactory Nevada factory to improve HVAC efficiency.
Tesla has revealed in its Extended Impact Report for 2024 that it is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enable its factories to be more sustainable. One example it used was its achievement of managing “the majority of the HVAC infrastructure at Gigafactory Nevada is now AI-controlled” last year.
In a commitment to becoming more efficient and making its production as eco-friendly as possible, Tesla has been working for years to find solutions to reduce energy consumption in its factories.
For example, in 2023, Tesla implemented optimization controls in the plastics and paint shops located at Gigafactory Texas, which increased the efficiency of natural gas consumption. Tesla plans to phase out natural gas use across its factories eventually, but for now, it prioritizes work to reduce emissions from that energy source specifically.
It also uses Hygrometric Control Logic for Air Handling Units at Giafactory Berlin, resulting in 17,000 MWh in energy savings each year. At Gigafactory Nevada, Tesla saves 9.5 GWh of energy through the use of N-Methylpyrrolidone refineries when extracting critical raw material.
Perhaps the most interesting way Tesla is conserving energy is through the use of AI at Gigafactory Nevada, as it describes its use of AI to reduce energy demand:
“In 2023, AI Control for HVAC was expanded from Nevada and Texas to now include our Berlin-Brandenburg and Fremont factories. AI Control policy enables HVAC systems within each factory to work together to process sensor data, model factory dynamics, and apply control actions that safely minimize the energy required to support production. In 2024, this system achieved two milestones: the majority of HVAC infrastructure at Gigafactory Nevada is now AI-controlled, reducing fan and thermal energy demand; and the AI algorithm was extended to manage entire chiller plants, creating a closed-loop control system that optimizes both chilled water consumption and the energy required for its generation, all while maintaining factory conditions.”
Tesla utilizes AI Control “primarily on systems that heat or cool critical factory production spaces and equipment.” AI Control communicates with the preexisting standard control logic of each system, and any issues can be resolved by quickly reverting back to standard control. There were none in 2024.
Tesla says that it is utilizing AI to drive impact at its factories, and it has proven to be a valuable tool in reducing energy consumption at one of its facilities.
Elon Musk
Tesla analysts believe Musk and Trump feud will pass
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump’s feud shall pass, several bulls say.
Tesla analysts are breaking down the current feud between CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump, as the two continue to disagree on the “Big Beautiful Bill” and its impact on the country’s national debt.
Musk, who headed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump Administration, left his post in May. Soon thereafter, he and President Trump entered a very public and verbal disagreement, where things turned sour. They reconciled to an extent, and things seemed to be in the past.
However, the second disagreement between the two started on Monday, as Musk continued to push back on the “Big Beautiful Bill” that the Trump administration is attempting to sign into law. It would, by Musk’s estimation, increase spending and reverse the work DOGE did to trim the deficit.
Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!
And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 30, 2025
President Trump has hinted that DOGE could be “the monster” that “eats Elon,” threatening to end the subsidies that SpaceX and Tesla receive. Musk has not been opposed to ending government subsidies for companies, including his own, as long as they are all abolished.
How Tesla could benefit from the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ that axes EV subsidies
Despite this contentious back-and-forth between the two, analysts are sharing their opinions now, and a few of the more bullish Tesla observers are convinced that this feud will pass, Trump and Musk will resolve their differences as they have before, and things will return to normal.
ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood said this morning that the feud between Musk and Trump is another example of “this too shall pass:”
BREAKING: CATHIE WOOD SAYS — ELON AND TRUMP FEUD “WILL PASS” 👀 $TSLA
She remains bullish ! pic.twitter.com/w5rW2gfCkx
— TheSonOfWalkley (@TheSonOfWalkley) July 1, 2025
Additionally, Wedbush’s Dan Ives, in a note to investors this morning, said that the situation “will settle:”
“We believe this situation will settle and at the end of the day Musk needs Trump and Trump needs Musk given the AI Arms Race going on between the US and China. The jabs between Musk and Trump will continue as the Budget rolls through Congress but Tesla investors want Musk to focus on driving Tesla and stop this political angle…which has turned into a life of its own in a roller coaster ride since the November elections.”
Tesla shares are down about 5 percent at 3:10 p.m. on the East Coast.
Elon Musk
Tesla scrambles after Musk sidekick exit, CEO takes over sales
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly overseeing sales in North America and Europe, Bloomberg reports.
Tesla scrambled its executives around following the exit of CEO Elon Musk’s sidekick last week, Omead Afshar. Afshar was relieved of his duties as Head of Sales for both North America and Europe.
Bloomberg is reporting that Musk is now overseeing both regions for sales, according to sources familiar with the matter. Afshar left the company last week, likely due to slow sales in both markets, ending a seven-year term with the electric automaker.
Tesla’s Omead Afshar, known as Elon Musk’s right-hand man, leaves company: reports
Afshar was promoted to the role late last year as Musk was becoming more involved in the road to the White House with President Donald Trump.
Afshar, whose LinkedIn account stated he was working within the “Office of the CEO,” was known as Musk’s right-hand man for years.
Additionally, Tom Zhu, currently the Senior Vice President of Automotive at Tesla, will oversee sales in Asia, according to the report.
It is a scramble by Tesla to get the company’s proven executives over the pain points the automaker has found halfway through the year. Sales are looking to be close to the 1.8 million vehicles the company delivered in both of the past two years.
Tesla is pivoting to pay more attention to the struggling automotive sales that it has felt over the past six months. Although it is still performing well and is the best-selling EV maker by a long way, it is struggling to find growth despite redesigning its vehicles and launching new tech and improvements within them.
The company is also looking to focus more on its deployment of autonomous tech, especially as it recently launched its Robotaxi platform in Austin just over a week ago.
However, while this is the long-term catalyst for Tesla, sales still need some work, and it appears the company’s strategy is to put its biggest guns on its biggest problems.
Tesla reveals it is using AI to make factories more sustainable: here’s how
Tesla analysts believe Musk and Trump feud will pass
Tesla scrambles after Musk sidekick exit, CEO takes over sales
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