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NDTV
3 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
Day After Elon Musk's Exit, His Right-Hand Steve Davis Also Quits DOGE
Steve Davis, who served as Elon Musk's de facto second-in-command at the Department of Government Efficiency, is following the billionaire adviser out of President Donald Trump's signature cost-cutting effort, a person familiar with the move said Thursday. Like Musk, Davis was serving as a special government employee, a designation that allowed him to keep his job as CEO of one of the billionaire entrepreneur's companies, the Boring Co., even as he worked on the DOGE effort. SGEs are limited to 130 days of work for the government in any year. Davis's move was detailed on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel moves not yet made public. The Boring Co. is a tunnel construction and equipment company. Davis has also worked at other Musk enterprises, including SpaceX and Twitter, which Musk rebranded as X. Davis's departure leaves the future of the effort to scale back US government spending up to lower-profile officials at the White House and federal agencies. Anthony Armstrong, who helped Musk buy Twitter as a banker at Morgan Stanley, and Antonio Gracias, a Musk confidant and CEO of Valor Equity Partners, are also top Musk lieutenants at DOGE. Trump created the White House unit of experts from computer engineering and finance in January as Musk sought to find $2 trillion in savings. The effort was expected to last through July 4, 2026. But after shuttering agencies and canceling contracts early in Trump's second term, the effort to find savings sputtered after allegations of widespread fraud never materialized. Musk said Wednesday that his time as a formal adviser to Trump is coming to a close. His high-profile political work for the president had spurred worries among investors about the fallout for his companies, most prominently Tesla Inc.
Boston Globe
20-05-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Gulf deal-making spree also benefited Elon Musk and his family
The terms of both deals were not disclosed. On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that SpaceX was in talks over providing internet service to Emirates Airlines, which is owned by the government. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Musk occupies a unique role, even for an administration that has shattered norms around governance and private deal-making. He has attended Cabinet meetings and wields incredible power to cut programs across the government -- all while operating companies that profit from federal spending and foreign contracts. Advertisement He and his family have riches at stake in the Persian Gulf, a region whose autocratic monarchies have tried to cultivate closer ties to the West. In doing so, its leaders have courted international executives, invested in big-name sports leagues or teams and at times, authorities say, bribed lawmakers and their family members. For years, Musk's companies have raised money from government-linked and regional funds in the Gulf. That includes Vy Capital, a Dubai-based firm that has backed at least five Musk-led businesses. SpaceX provides launch services for some UAE satellites, and Musk's tunneling firm, the Boring Co., inked an agreement with Dubai's transit authority in February to build a transport system under the city. Advertisement Musk said last week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that he would like to see the Boring Co. work with Saudi Arabia as well. Musk joined Saudi and US officials for lunch with other business leaders last May 13. The White House invite list also included his younger brother, Kimbal Musk, whose company Nova Sky Stories recently announced agreements with Qatar and Abu Dhabi to provide a series of drone light shows. Kimbal Musk said on social media that the Abu Dhabi events would feature 10,000 drones, making them 'the world's largest' of their kind. Earlier this year, Maye Musk, the mother of Kimbal and Elon Musk, was a headliner at a government conference in the UAE. And Errol Musk, Elon Musk's father, has said he is in talks with an Emirati firm to build a Musk Tower in Dubai to house the Musk Institute, a planned technology hub. Maye and Kimbal Musk did not respond to requests to comment. In an email to The New York Times, Errol Musk said the Musk Institute he envisioned would be devoted to studying 'gravity and space-time travel.' 'The popular vision of the future seen in movies where vehicles go about up and down in the air and into space will never happen unless we solve these problems,' he wrote. Errol Musk said that Elon, with whom he has a fraught relationship, was not involved with the Musk Tower or Musk Institute. Advertisement Errol Musk has said that his support of Donald Trump in the 2016 election further strained his relationship with his sons. 'But since then, both my boys have 'seen the light,'' he wrote to the Times. He said he travels often to the UAE and late last year, he and Kimbal had lunch together there. 'We were guests of the sheikh of Abu Dhabi,' he wrote. On a trip in February, Errol Musk told Arabian Gulf Business Insight that he was working with the Al Khaili Group of Abu Dhabi to build the tower. He was seeking to raise between $150 million and $200 million through his cryptocurrency, called MuskIt. In February, the company behind MuskIt claimed its total value had reached $500 million, though as of this week, that valuation has dropped to less than $1.5 million. The Al Khaili Group could not be reached for comment, and it is unclear whether a site for the Musk Tower has been selected, or how firm the plans for construction are. Errol Musk's digital currency efforts follow in the path of the Trump family. At a major cryptocurrency conference in Dubai last month -- two weeks before Trump and Elon Musk traveled to the region -- the president's son Eric Trump took part in an announcement that a state-backed Emirati firm would use the Trump firm's digital coins for a $2 billion business deal. Matthew Hedges, a researcher at Durham University in England and an expert on the UAE security apparatus, said that Gulf intelligence services were likely to look for people within Trump's 'personalized power structure' with access to the president but who have few security checks around them, making Elon Musk and his family prime targets. Advertisement
Sydney Morning Herald
15-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Won't you be my neighbour? No thanks, Elon Musk
Unless the city council disagrees with that decision, Musk faces the prospect of tearing down the fence and gate or changing them to comply with the town's rules. Loading Musk did not return requests for comment. A house manager linked to the property declined to comment. Musk's history in Texas is relatively recent. The tech mogul, who oversees six companies, moved most of his business operations to the state from California starting about 2021. He has built factories for his electric vehicle company, Tesla, his rocket company, SpaceX, and his tunnelling venture, the Boring Co., around Austin and neighbouring Bastrop. Musk also moved himself to Austin. He initially wanted to build houses for himself and his children (he has at least 13) on hundreds of acres that he bought there. After the plan fell through, he looked at other properties. In 2022, Musk bought the West Lake Hills home through a limited liability company, which was named after the street where the property sits. The house is in the middle of a residential neighbourhood at the bottom of about 8000 square metres of sloping land off a narrow public road, making security challenging. 'Castles are supposed to be built on hills, right?' said Anne Yeakel, a long-time West Lake Hills resident who lives around the corner. 'These were sophisticated buyers, and if security was the prime directive, this was not the house for it.' Musk and his staff did not introduce themselves to the neighbours. Few residents have seen him there. But word travelled fast in the community of 3400, and soon everyone knew he had moved in. 'It's common knowledge here,' Yeakel said. The mansion was one of three that Musk bought in the area over the past three years to create a compound for his children and their mothers. At one point, Claire Boucher, known as the musician Grimes, lived with Musk and their three children in the house. Shivon Zilis, a brain technology executive who has four children with Musk, lives about a 10-minute walk away. Musk also bought a Tuscan-style mansion about a year ago. Neighbours soon grew frustrated with the constant hubbub at the house. They saw people coming and going carrying gun holsters, as the security team ballooned along with Musk's safety concerns. Though Texas has permissive gun laws, the activity stood out. 'I call that place Fort Knox,' said Hemmer, a retired real estate agent who lives across the street and is president of the neighbourhood home owners' association. The house was quieter on days when Musk was not in town, neighbours said, especially in recent months, when he lived mostly in Washington to advise President Donald Trump. Now residents are bracing for Musk's return, after he said he would spend less time in the capital. Some neighbours became particularly annoyed at the hulking fence in front of the mansion, as well as the giant metal gate at the other end of the property, which appears to serve as an employee entrance. Loading Hemmer, who has long owned a Tesla, grew so frustrated with his neighbour that he began flying a drone over the house to check for city violations, and he keeps a video camera trained on the property around the clock. Last year, he complained to West Lake Hills officials about Musk's fence, the traffic and how he thought the owner was operating a security business from the property. Musk's security team also contacted the West Lake Hills Police Department about Hemmer, according to city records. One security official accused Hemmer last year of standing naked in the street, according to the records. Hemmer denied that he was naked and said he was on his property wearing black underwear. On another night, he said, he was walking his dog fully clothed and stopped when he suddenly needed to urinate – which Musk's camera captured. 'The cameras got me,' Hemmer said. 'It's scary they have guys sitting and watching me pee.' After repeated remonstrances from Hemmer, West Lake Hills officials found that Musk had violated city ordinances with the fence and the gate. Last month, the Zoning and Planning Commission debated whether to grant him variances for the projects. Before the meeting, Tisha Ritta, a permit expert working for Musk's limited liability company, wrote a letter to the planning commission asking for relief from the city rules. 'As a high-profile public official, the property's resident faces ongoing security threats, making proactive safety measures imperative,' she wrote, according to a copy of the letter. Ritta did not respond to requests for comment. Loading Hemmer and other residents wrote their own letter to the planning commission, admonishing their neighbour for facilitating 'bad behaviour on our quiet little cul-de-sac'. For a time, Musk appeared poised to win the neighbourhood battle. Planning and zoning officials recommended that his property be granted 'hardship variances', which would allow him to keep the fence and other projects with only small changes to the property, according to city documents. But at the planning meeting, the commissioners refused Musk the variances. When they questioned Ritta, she blamed a former house manager for failing to get permits for the construction. 'I just met the property owner last year, and unfortunately they were under the guidance of the property manager,' she said, according to a recording of the meeting. Hemmer also spoke up at the meeting to say he doubted the homeowner had been misguided. 'If you follow him at all in the news, he's always guilty of building stuff and then asking for permission later,' he said. One commissioner, who was not identified in the recording, said she could not believe West Lake Hills staff had recommended that the home owner receive any exceptions. 'I'm astounded the staff is putting forth any kind of suggestions we bend based on who is asking,' she said. The planning commission's decision does not end the process. At the upcoming West Lake Hills City Council meeting, members must decide whether to stick with the commissioners' recommendation on Musk's mansion.
The Age
15-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Won't you be my neighbour? No thanks, Elon Musk
Unless the city council disagrees with that decision, Musk faces the prospect of tearing down the fence and gate or changing them to comply with the town's rules. Loading Musk did not return requests for comment. A house manager linked to the property declined to comment. Musk's history in Texas is relatively recent. The tech mogul, who oversees six companies, moved most of his business operations to the state from California starting about 2021. He has built factories for his electric vehicle company, Tesla, his rocket company, SpaceX, and his tunnelling venture, the Boring Co., around Austin and neighbouring Bastrop. Musk also moved himself to Austin. He initially wanted to build houses for himself and his children (he has at least 13) on hundreds of acres that he bought there. After the plan fell through, he looked at other properties. In 2022, Musk bought the West Lake Hills home through a limited liability company, which was named after the street where the property sits. The house is in the middle of a residential neighbourhood at the bottom of about 8000 square metres of sloping land off a narrow public road, making security challenging. 'Castles are supposed to be built on hills, right?' said Anne Yeakel, a long-time West Lake Hills resident who lives around the corner. 'These were sophisticated buyers, and if security was the prime directive, this was not the house for it.' Musk and his staff did not introduce themselves to the neighbours. Few residents have seen him there. But word travelled fast in the community of 3400, and soon everyone knew he had moved in. 'It's common knowledge here,' Yeakel said. The mansion was one of three that Musk bought in the area over the past three years to create a compound for his children and their mothers. At one point, Claire Boucher, known as the musician Grimes, lived with Musk and their three children in the house. Shivon Zilis, a brain technology executive who has four children with Musk, lives about a 10-minute walk away. Musk also bought a Tuscan-style mansion about a year ago. Neighbours soon grew frustrated with the constant hubbub at the house. They saw people coming and going carrying gun holsters, as the security team ballooned along with Musk's safety concerns. Though Texas has permissive gun laws, the activity stood out. 'I call that place Fort Knox,' said Hemmer, a retired real estate agent who lives across the street and is president of the neighbourhood home owners' association. The house was quieter on days when Musk was not in town, neighbours said, especially in recent months, when he lived mostly in Washington to advise President Donald Trump. Now residents are bracing for Musk's return, after he said he would spend less time in the capital. Some neighbours became particularly annoyed at the hulking fence in front of the mansion, as well as the giant metal gate at the other end of the property, which appears to serve as an employee entrance. Loading Hemmer, who has long owned a Tesla, grew so frustrated with his neighbour that he began flying a drone over the house to check for city violations, and he keeps a video camera trained on the property around the clock. Last year, he complained to West Lake Hills officials about Musk's fence, the traffic and how he thought the owner was operating a security business from the property. Musk's security team also contacted the West Lake Hills Police Department about Hemmer, according to city records. One security official accused Hemmer last year of standing naked in the street, according to the records. Hemmer denied that he was naked and said he was on his property wearing black underwear. On another night, he said, he was walking his dog fully clothed and stopped when he suddenly needed to urinate – which Musk's camera captured. 'The cameras got me,' Hemmer said. 'It's scary they have guys sitting and watching me pee.' After repeated remonstrances from Hemmer, West Lake Hills officials found that Musk had violated city ordinances with the fence and the gate. Last month, the Zoning and Planning Commission debated whether to grant him variances for the projects. Before the meeting, Tisha Ritta, a permit expert working for Musk's limited liability company, wrote a letter to the planning commission asking for relief from the city rules. 'As a high-profile public official, the property's resident faces ongoing security threats, making proactive safety measures imperative,' she wrote, according to a copy of the letter. Ritta did not respond to requests for comment. Loading Hemmer and other residents wrote their own letter to the planning commission, admonishing their neighbour for facilitating 'bad behaviour on our quiet little cul-de-sac'. For a time, Musk appeared poised to win the neighbourhood battle. Planning and zoning officials recommended that his property be granted 'hardship variances', which would allow him to keep the fence and other projects with only small changes to the property, according to city documents. But at the planning meeting, the commissioners refused Musk the variances. When they questioned Ritta, she blamed a former house manager for failing to get permits for the construction. 'I just met the property owner last year, and unfortunately they were under the guidance of the property manager,' she said, according to a recording of the meeting. Hemmer also spoke up at the meeting to say he doubted the homeowner had been misguided. 'If you follow him at all in the news, he's always guilty of building stuff and then asking for permission later,' he said. One commissioner, who was not identified in the recording, said she could not believe West Lake Hills staff had recommended that the home owner receive any exceptions. 'I'm astounded the staff is putting forth any kind of suggestions we bend based on who is asking,' she said. The planning commission's decision does not end the process. At the upcoming West Lake Hills City Council meeting, members must decide whether to stick with the commissioners' recommendation on Musk's mansion.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas County to Vote on Giving Musk's SpaceX Its Own City
The Texas launch site of Elon Musk's SpaceX could soon have its very own city. Officials on Wednesday approved an election sought by the aerospace firm that would allow residents who live near its Starbase site—almost all of them employees—to carve out a new municipality in an unincorporated area of Cameron County near the U.S.-Mexico border. If the May 3 vote is successful, the new city would share the Starbase name with the site, where the Musk-led SpaceX constructs and launches its colossal Starship rockets. It would also likely be governed from within Musk's orbit. The form of municipality that would be created, a Type C under Texas law, is led by a mayor and two commissioners. The only candidate for mayor, according to a petition, is SpaceX security manager Gunnar Milburn. That December petition, signed by 70 residents, stated most of the roughly 500 people in the area, which includes 100 children, were SpaceX employees. Musk first floated the idea of the city in 2021. Construction began on the SpaceX launch site in 2014 and, according to the Associated Press, just 10 of the 250 lots of land within the proposed city limits don't belong to the company. A Starbase municipality would mark a notable addition to Musk's rapidly expanding empire in Texas, where he has relocated several businesses and himself, citing the conservative state's light regulatory touch and limited taxes. He moved the headquarters of carmaker Tesla, a publicly traded company where he's CEO, and his tunnel construction business Boring Co. to the Austin metro area in 2021. His social media company X followed in 2023. Tesla's opened a sprawling, 10-million-square-foot Gigafactory to build Cybertrucks near Austin in 2022, where its headquarters is now located. The Boring Co. also has its own small community of mobile homes, and a general store to serve its workers, but it is within incorporated lands. The New York Times reported last year that Musk bought a sprawling Texas compound and helped purchase an adjoining property with plans to build a place for his no less than 11 children and two of their three mothers to live in close proximity. Musk denied he owned or that he was building a compound in Austin, and also denied claims that he had offered his sperm to friends and acquaintances in a gesture that would see more mini-Musks. Over 3,400 full-time SpaceX employees and contractors work at the Starbase site, according to a Cameron County study issued last year. Space industry stakeholders have fretted in recent months about Musk's close relationship with President Donald Trump, who tapped the world's richest man to lead a federal spending task force, fearing that SpaceX could benefit from government contracts at the expense of competitors. 'People are concerned what's in place to stop it,' one industry lobbyist told Politico in November. 'You're talking about two of the most unpredictable people in the world getting together. It's not like chocolate and peanut butter, and you get a great combination. You're talking about world dominance here.' There are already signs that Musk's companies more broadly stand to benefit from his role as Trump benefactor, surrogate and sycophant. On Wednesday, Drop Site News reported that the federal government earmarked $400 million to purchase armored vehicles Tesla, according to a new State Department procurement data.
