Public transcript

Elon Musk on Tesla, ‘DOGE’ and Political Spending | The Mishal Husain Show

By: Bloomberg Podcasts
Length: 40 min
Language: English
Text from: the video's captions
Transcribed: 13 October 2026

Read the full transcript Open on YouTube

Notes in English.

Summary

Recorded in May 2025 at Bloomberg's Qatar Economic Forum, this interview with Elon Musk covers his dual role as CEO and government advisor running DOGE, Tesla's declining European sales and the backlash against his politics, his $56 billion pay dispute, and SpaceX and Starlink's future. Musk denies any conflict of interest from his government work, defends DOGE's savings of about $160 billion against his original $2 trillion pledge, and disputes criticism of USAID cuts. He also confirms he will spend far less on future elections and outlines major milestones for the year, including fully reusable Starship and unsupervised autonomy in Austin. The conversation is frequently tense, with Musk repeatedly challenging the interviewer's questions.

Key points

Musk says he spends about 1 to 2 days a week on government work and is committed to remaining Tesla CEO for the next five years.
He claims Tesla sales have already turned around, with Europe the weakest market, and dismisses the Delaware judge who struck down his $56 billion pay package as an activist.
He says people who attacked Tesla showrooms and cars will go to prison, along with those who funded and organized them.
SpaceX will not enter the weapons business, and Starlink may go public someday but he is in no rush.
He is pursuing his lawsuit against OpenAI, comparing its shift to for-profit closed source to funding a rainforest nonprofit that becomes a lumber company.
He still believes AI needs a few regulators, while older industries like automotive and aerospace are overregulated.
He denies any conflict of interest from DOGE, saying all its actions are posted publicly, and rejects criticism over South Africa's Black ownership rules for Starlink.
He says DOGE has saved about $160 billion so far, defends the USAID cuts, and says he will spend much less on future political campaigns.

Questions it answers

00:53Tesla and government role

How does Musk balance his CEO roles with government work, and how is Tesla doing?

He spends about 1 to 2 days a week on government work while running his companies, and says Tesla sales have already turned around despite weak European numbers.

About 1 to 2 days a week on government work.
Europe is Tesla's weakest market; sales strong elsewhere.
He is committed to being Tesla CEO for five years.

07:35Tesla attacks and pay package

How does Musk respond to the backlash and violence against Tesla?

He says people who attacked Tesla showrooms and burned cars will go to prison, along with those who funded and organized them, and calls the violence an evil, unjustifiable response.

He took the blowback personally.
He distinguishes objection to his politics from violence and death threats.
He says organisers and funders will also face prison.

10:09SpaceX and Starlink

What is the future for SpaceX and Starlink?

SpaceX dominates space launch and will not enter the weapons business; Starlink may go public someday but he is in no rush, partly due to US shareholder lawsuit abuse.

SpaceX will do about 90% of mass launch to orbit.
About 80% of active satellites are SpaceX.
Starlink IPO possible but not imminent.

15:10OpenAI lawsuit and AI regulation

Where does the OpenAI lawsuit stand and has his view on AI regulation changed?

He is pursuing his lawsuit against OpenAI, comparing its for-profit conversion to funding a rainforest nonprofit that became a lumber company, and he still wants a few AI regulators rather than none.

He funded OpenAI's first roughly $50 million.
Old industries are overregulated; AI has no regulator at all.
He wants a few referees, not a field packed with them.

21:46DOGE and South Africa

Does Musk see a conflict of interest between DOGE and his companies?

He denies any conflict of interest, saying DOGE is transparent and only advises, and he attacks South Africa's Black ownership rules as racist laws.

DOGE posts all actions to doge.gov and the @DOGE handle on X.
He calls South Africa's ownership laws racist.
He repeatedly presses the interviewer to answer his question.

27:08DOGE savings and USAID

How much has DOGE saved and what about USAID cuts?

DOGE has saved about $160 billion so far, and he defends USAID cuts, calling Bill Gates a liar and saying useful programmes were transferred to the State Department.

Savings depend on support from Congress and the executive.
He calls Bill Gates "a huge liar".
He disputes UNAIDS death projections but offers to fix any real gaps.

35:41Politics and the year ahead

What are Musk's political plans and priorities for the year ahead?

He plans much less political spending in future, says he has spoken to Putin only once on a video call, and highlights reusable Starship, Neuralink Blindsight, near-AGI and unsupervised autonomy in Austin.

"I think I've done enough" political spending.
Only one video call with Putin about five years ago.
Self-driving cars with no one in them launch in Austin next month.

Notes

Tesla

Musk says Tesla's sales have "already turned around", though Europe is the weakest market and European sales are down.
He says the company has lost some sales "on the left" but gained them "on the right", and demand is strong.
He is committed to remaining CEO for the next five years, but says sufficient voting control matters more than pay.
He calls the Delaware judge who twice struck down his $56 billion pay package "an activist posing as a judge".
On attacks on Tesla showrooms and cars: "those people will go to prison and the people that funded them and organized them will also go to prison."

SpaceX and Starlink

SpaceX will not enter the weapons business despite frequent requests.
SpaceX will do about 90% of mass launch to orbit; roughly 80% of active satellites in orbit are SpaceX.
Starlink may go public at some point, but Musk is "in no rush"; he criticises US shareholder derivative lawsuits and says reform needs 60 Senate votes.

AI

He is pushing ahead with the lawsuit against OpenAI, which he says he funded with roughly the first $50 million as a nonprofit, open-source company.
He still supports a federal AI regulator: "you want a few referees in the field", while older industries are overregulated.

DOGE and government

He denies any conflict of interest, saying DOGE's actions are posted to doge.gov and the @DOGE handle on X.
He rejects criticism of South Africa's Black ownership rules, calling them "racist laws" and pressing the interviewer to answer his question.
DOGE has saved about $160 billion so far; he says the magnitude of savings depends on support from Congress and the executive branch.
On USAID, he calls Bill Gates "a huge liar" and says useful programmes were transferred to the State Department, not deleted; he disputes UNAIDS figures on AIDS-related deaths but says "if in fact this is true, which I doubt it is, then we'll fix it."

Politics and outlook

He will do "a lot less" political spending in future: "I think I've done enough."
He says he has spoken to Putin only once, on a video call about five years ago, and calls Wall Street Journal reports "typical legacy media lies".
This year: fully reusable Starship, Neuralink Blindsight patient, possible AGI, and unsupervised autonomy (self-driving cars with no one in them) in Austin next month.

Text from the video's own captions. Summary and notes written by AI from the transcript, so check anything important against the recording.