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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
Elon Musk hints Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily
“Hold onto your Tesla stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet,” Musk said.
Elon Musk recently hinted that he believes Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily if they continue to hold onto their shares, and he reiterated that in a new interview that the company released on its social accounts this week.
Musk is one of the most successful CEOs in the modern era and has mammothed competitors on the Forbes Net Worth List over the past year as his holdings in his various companies have continued to swell.
Tesla investors, especially those who have been holding shares for several years, have also felt substantial gains in their portfolios. Over the past five years, the stock is up over 78 percent. Since February 2019, nearly seven years ago to the day, the stock is up over 1,800 percent.
Musk said in the interview:
“Hold onto your Tesla stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet.”
Elon Musk in new interview: “Hold on to your $TSLA stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet.” pic.twitter.com/cucirBuhq0
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) February 26, 2026
It’s no secret Musk has been extremely bullish on his own companies, but Tesla in particular, because it is publicly traded.
However, the company has so many amazing projects that have an opportunity to revolutionize their respective industries. There is certainly a path to major growth on Wall Street for Tesla through its various future projects, including Optimus, Cybercab, Semi, and Unsupervised FSD.
- Optimus (Tesla’s humanoid robot): Musk has discussed its potential for tasks like childcare, walking dogs, or assisting elderly parents, positioning it as a massive long-term driver of company value.
- Cybercab (Tesla’s robotaxi/autonomous ride-hailing vehicle): a fully autonomous vehicle geared specifically for Tesla’s ride-sharing ambitions.
- Semi (Tesla’s electric truck, with mentions of expansion, like in Europe): brings Tesla into the commercial logistics sector.
- Unsupervised FSD (Full Self-Driving software achieving full autonomy without human supervision): turns every Tesla owner’s vehicle into a fully-autonomous vehicle upon release
These projects specifically are some of the highest-growth pillars Tesla has ever attempted to develop, especially in Musk’s eyes, as he has said Optimus will be the best-selling product of all-time.
Many analysts agree, but the bullish ones, like Cathie Wood of ARK Invest, are perhaps the one who believes Tesla has incredible potential on Wall Street, predicting a $2,600 price target for 2030, but this is not even including Optimus.
She told Bloomberg last March that she believes that the project will present a potential additive if Tesla can scale faster than anticipated.
Cybertruck
Tesla drops latest hint that new Cybertruck trim is selling like hotcakes
According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:
Tesla’s new Cybertruck offering has had its delivery date pushed back once again. This is now the second time, and deliveries for the newest orders are now pushed well into 2027.
According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:
🚨 Tesla has updated the $59,990 Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD’s estimated delivery date to April 2027.
First deliveries are still slated for June, but if you order it now, you’ll be waiting over a year.
Demand appears to be off the charts for the new Cybertruck and consumers are… pic.twitter.com/raDCCeC0zP
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 26, 2026
Just three days ago, the initial delivery date of June 2026 was pushed back to early Fall, and now, that date has officially moved to April 2027.
The fact that Tesla has had to push back deliveries once again proves one of two things: either Tesla has slow production plans for the new Cybertruck trim, or demand is off the charts.
Judging by how Tesla is already planning to raise the price based on demand in just a few days, it seems like the company knows it is giving a tremendous deal on this spec of Cybertruck, and units are moving quickly.
That points more toward demand and not necessarily to slower production plans, but it is not confirmed.
Tesla Cybertruck’s newest trim will undergo massive change in ten days, Musk says
Tesla is set to hike the price on March 1, so tomorrow will be the final day to grab the new Cybertruck trim for just $59,990.
It features:
- Dual Motor AWD w/ est. 325 mi of range
- Powered tonneau cover
- Bed outlets (2x 120V + 1x 240V) & Powershare capability
- Coil springs w/ adaptive damping
- Heated first-row seats w/ textile material that is easy to clean
- Steer-by-wire & Four Wheel Steering
- 6’ x 4’ composite bed
- Towing capacity of up to 7,500 lbs
- Powered frunk
Interestingly, the price offering is fairly close to what Tesla unveiled back in late 2019.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk outlines plan for first Starship tower catch attempt
Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.
Elon Musk has clarified when SpaceX will first attempt to catch Starship’s upper stage with its launch tower. The CEO’s update provides the clearest teaser yet for the spacecraft’s recovery roadmap.
Musk shared the details in recent posts on X. In his initial post, Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.
“Starship V3 SN1 headed for ground tests. I am highly confident that the V3 design will achieve full reusability,” Musk wrote.
In a follow-up post, Musk addressed when SpaceX would attempt to catch the upper stage using the launch tower’s robotic arms.
“Should note that SpaceX will only try to catch the ship with the tower after two perfect soft landings in the ocean. The risk of the ship breaking up over land needs to be very low,” Musk clarified.
His remarks suggest that SpaceX is deliberately reducing risk before attempting a tower catch of Starship’s upper stage. Such a milestone would mark a major step towards the full reuse of the Starship system.
SpaceX is currently targeting the first Starship V3 flight of 2026 this coming March. The spacecraft’s V3 iteration is widely viewed as a key milestone in SpaceX’s long-term strategy to make Starship fully reusable.
Starship V3 features a number of key upgrades over its previous iterations. The vehicle is equipped with SpaceX’s Raptor V3 engines, which are designed to deliver significantly higher thrust than earlier versions while reducing cost and weight.
The V3 design is also expected to be optimized for manufacturability, a critical step if SpaceX intends to scale the spacecraft’s production toward frequent launches for Starlink, lunar missions, and eventually Mars.
Elon Musk hints Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily
Tesla drops latest hint that new Cybertruck trim is selling like hotcakes
