There is a large mostly abandoned shopping center near where I live.

[PJMcK]

27. Musk foolishly threw his lot in with Trump

Musk doesn't seem that smart to me. He just has a lot of money. Simply put, he clearly didn't learn Rick Wilson's dictum:

EVERYTHING TRUMP TOUCHES DIES.

Musk has nearly completely trashed his Tesla brand. A great many of the people who bought the EVs wanted to protect the planet by using a low carbon vehicle. (Of course, they forget that the electricity to charge their batteries has to come from somewhere like carbon-based generators.) The vehicles are reasonably elegant and distinctive and even though they're somewhat on the high end cost of automobiles, they're not unreasonable.

My impression, as many others have noted, is that Tesla's customers were somewhat left-of-center. In contrast, the MAGA-bros like to drive their F-250s "burning coal," as the say. However, that same original customer base is probably not too happy with Musk's embrace of Trump and his fascist policies. Notably, Tesla sales have cratered.

Big surprise. As I wrote, Musk doesn't seem that smart. His pursuit of money has diminished the appeal of the Tesla brand and it's probably over. The only exception are the fools who want a CyberTruck, which is destined to go down in history with the Edsel.

The idea that Musk is a great businessman is as much bullshit as the idea that Trump is a genius and a brilliant executive.

I get that he might be trying to replace his Tesla business with the SpaceX "Golden (Shower) Dome" project which will total in the mega-billions.

He's still not that smart. And he is as much an idiot as is Trump.