“Bros, looks like one accidented trailer has just passed between Trump and Elon Musk oh, and it gets messier by the day.”
“What do you expect? It is just simple common sense. Elon Musk invested over $290 million to bring Trump to power. He supported him, campaigned with him. Then he got rewarded with the high-profile job of the man to fix Government Efficiency. Trump even supported Tesla when the company was losing sales and failing, up to 19% in the year 2025 alone. But what you have just seen is that even among thieves, there are boundaries”.
“What I hear is that there is honour among thieves?”
“So which thieves are we talking about and how?”
“Both of them are pursuing their own interests. When interests clash, friendship ends. Trump wants America First. He has told everyone that he has to defend the mega spending and tax cut bill, which he has now signed into law, because he promised the American electorate that he would do so. And now he has done so, even if he had to blackmail both Senate and the House of Representatives to get it through by a very narrow margin.”
“Very narrow margin indeed. 50 to 51 in the Senate with Vice President J D. Vance having to break the tie. In the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader spoke for 8 hours, 45 minutes to oppose the bill. The House may have voted 218 – 214 eventually but this must be one of the most controversial pieces of legislation since Trump’s second return.”
“So, what is Elon Musk now saying? He wants to commit suicide?”
“No, he wants to protect American democracy and the people’s freedom. He has announced the formation of a new political party: the American Party, to challenge the Democrats and the Republicans in just two or three Senate districts and 8 to 10 House districts, and he will have legislative discussions with the Democrats and the Republicans. He had already said that he will deal with any lawmaker who supports the Bill to ensure that such a person does not return to Congress.”
“In his capacity as what?”
“He is CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X, and the richest man in the world. He has money. And in this world, money rules everything. It dictates how politics is played, how the economy is run. It is the same all over the world. Look at Nigeria. In this country, the rich are the ones who have opinion. When the politicians are looking for positions, they go to the rich to beg for money. When they get into office, the rich Nigerians dictate the direction of government. Whether in Nigeria or elsewhere, the rich people dictate policy. They run government.”
“Not in America though. It depends on who is in power. Trump has just told Elon Musk to get off his back and get lost. He says Musk is completely off the rails, practically becoming a Train Wreck in the past few weeks, and that he, Trump will not go back on the decision to terminate Electronic Vehicle Tax Credits. That is precisely what Elon Musk does not want, but it is now a matter of law.”
“But Musk’s father has said that these are two good friends behaving like children and that they will soon reconcile.”
“I don’t think Errol Musk knows what he is talking about. Trump has made it clear that if Elon Musk is not careful, he will be de-naturalized and deported back to South Africa where he originally comes from. I find it interesting though that both men are fighting with their big egos. It is an eye-opener in terms of the intersection between economic power and political power. Business CEOs are always hanging around the corridors of power, in expectation of returns. As it is in America, so it is elsewhere. In India, one of the big problems is crony capitalism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s friends are the ones in the charge of the commanding heights of the Indian economy. This is the exact story of the Adani Group, and the Reliance Group. When it is election time, the business people give money to the politicians. When victory is won, they move in and ask for returns. This is precisely what they do also here in Nigeria. Do you think these your billionaires are smart? No, they make money off the state. They are rent-collectors”
“The people. The people.”
“Who is talking about the people?”
“Trump. He says America First.”
“Don’t believe everything that you read. Trump says he is doing this for the Americans too. Which Americans? The Democrats and even members of his party argue that he is robbing the poor: Affordable Medicare, food stamp benefits, student loans, State And Local Tax (SALT) and Obama Care, to give better advantages to the rich in form of tax cuts even on tips, pensions and benefits. He wants to increase defence and immigration spending. The Latinos, Hispanics and Blacks who voted for Trump must be regretting the day they did so. Trump’s America is against them.”
“But Elon Musk is not interested in the poor either. He just wants to sell business, and make money for himself and his company.’
“This is not a fair world. It is one big game arena where the strongest survive and the weak perish”
“It is good however that some persons and groups can still summon the courage to stand up and speak the alternative to power. Take BRICS. They have just met in Rio de Janeiro, and their statement is very clear. They say that unjustified unilateral protectionist measures including the indiscriminate increase of reciprocal tariffs is inconsistent with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. We all know who that statement is meant for.”
“Yes. We know. And the target has spoken. He is Donald Trump, the United States President. He has warned that any country that supports the conspiracy of the BRICS countries against the United States will be slammed with an additional 10% of reciprocal tariffs.”
“Hey. Hey. The BRICS group is not Elon Musk. It is a formidable group which provides an alternative within the global order. A major part of the BRICS resolution in Rio de Janeiro was a tacit expression of support for Iran. Iran is one of the original 10 member-countries in BRICS.”
“But Trump has spoken. I hear our President was there, as a partner country in BRICS.”
“Yes. Yes. President Tinubu was in Rio to stand for Nigeria as a partner-country. We became a partner of BRICS in 2024. It is very good optics that our President was there.”
“Tinubu went to Brazil from St. Lucia. Men!, this guy is having fun. He jus dey catch cruise. As long as he doesn’t go and sign anything that will get us into trouble. We are a low middle income country, even behind Libya and Gabon, in terms of Gross National Income, GNI per capita That is what the World Bank tells us. Our President must worry more about productivity and how to increase revenue back home.”
“Tinubu knows what he is doing. He is looking for investments. He is not looking for trouble. Nigeria is partnering with Brazil in the area of agriculture. Tinubu is too smart to go and look for Trump’s trouble.”
“I just don’t want a situation where Trump will look at our President and call him, Mr. Nigeria.”
“What is wrong with that? President Tinubu is Mr. Nigeria, of course.”
“You don’t get the joke?”
“What joke?”