Over the weekend, while the world was transfixed by war in the Middle East, the Tesla Robotaxi quietly appeared on the streets of Austin, Texas. It didn’t stay quiet for long, though. As a handful of Tesla influencers filmed themselves driven through the streets of the red state’s famously blue capital, their smartphone videos caught plenty of traffic violations.

In this week’s episode David Papadopoulos is joined by Max Chafkin as well as Bloomberg electric vehicles reporter Kara Carlson to break down the launch. Years in the making, and with rivals like Waymo already familiar sights in some big US cities, will Elon Musk be able to spin this as something other than a tepid attempt at catch-up? Tesla investors seem to think so: the stock jumped 8.2% on Monday.

Papadopoulos and Chafkin are then joined by Bloomberg social media reporter Kurt Wagner, just back from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Wagner discusses X’s participation, or rather absence, from the all-important advertising event, and goes through how Musk’s embattled social media platform has reportedly tried to strong-arm advertisers to return by threatening lawsuits. This prompted Papadopoulos to speculate about the equivalent situation for hot dog vendors or shovel salesmen.

Lastly, the crew discuss a few additional news item from the week, namely an exploding SpaceX rocket and the recent report that Musk doesn’t use a computer.

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On this week’s episode of Elon, Inc., host David and Max chat about the latest Musk-Trump drama. A detente had just emerged when we last recorded, and now it feels like it’s just a matter of time before Musk (and little X) are back in the Oval Office sparring with reporters (and playing on the floor). Will the apologies help Musk secure eased restrictions for self-driving cars and access to Star Wars 2.0 (Trump’s “golden dome” project)? And will Max and David be able to introduce MAMUWT (Musk Always Makes Up With Trump) into the lexicon alongside TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out)? What about MADRA (Musk Always Delays Robotaxi Announcements)?

Meanwhile, xAI is in talks to raise $4.3 billion (on top of the $5 billion it’s been trying to raise) since the company has already spent most of the $14 billion it previously raised. Commitments on the debt sale are due Tuesday. Bloomberg’s Carmen Arroyo joins the crew to break down what it means for the future of Musk’s company.

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On this week’s episode, host David gathers Max Chafkin and Dana Hull to go through the latest developments in the aftermath of the Elon Musk-Donald Trump explosion last week. After two (!) emergency episodes in as many days last week, things seem to have calmed down between the South Africa native and the US president—but there are still signs of friction. Will Trump ever be able to forgive the insults Musk hurled at him on social media (as in, Trump should be impeached a third time)? Can he afford not to?

In the midst of all the drama, it’s easy to forget that this week will reportedly see a milestone event for Tesla: the June 12 launch of a robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. The operation will be small to start, with just 10-20 cars serving a limited area, according to the company. But the timing of the event is eyebrow raising. Not only does it come on the heels of Musk’s tweet-storm meltdown, it also happens a mere week after a Bloomberg story outlining a lethal crash involving a self-driving Tesla. The crew discuss just how long the odds are for robotaxi success.

To end, Chafkin has brought a feud to the program. This week it’s Musk against his own chatbot, Grok. Why is he so disappointed with his digital companion this time? The answer includes a screen short, a left wing meme and an artificial intellgence with a surprising lack of digital critical thinking.

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