Elon Musk's spiral of self-destruction

The cost for Donald Trump of keeping the world's richest man by his side is growing.

- Edward Luce

When billionaire Elon Musk said he loved US President Donald Trump "as much as a straight man can love another," the emetic effect was widespread. Mr. Trump is one of the few people left in Washington who likes having Mr. Musk around. Yet having given Mr. Musk more power than any private figure in US history, the President is watching his benefactor turn into an albatross. The question is how Mr. Trump will get rid of Mr. Musk, not whether.

The price of having him as co-helmsman is already steep. The New York Times chronicled how Mr. Trump clipped Mr. Musk's wings in a heated Cabinet meeting last week. Cabinet heads, rather than Mr. Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), would take care of their own hiring and firing, Mr. Trump said. His White House had, until then, been notably leak-free - in contrast to his first term. But it appears senior staff are keen to see the back of the chainsaw-wielding oligarch. The showdown had been set up with the aim of hastening that day.