Musk’s Non-Apology Needs a Rewrite – The Sooner the Better
Following a whirlwind tour of 130 days as chief budget-cutter in the government, Elon Musk has gotten back to the nitty-gritty — with a vengeance. His comparatively recent posts on X show this.
But . . . there he goes again, Elon Musk has been on the warpath against "The Big Beautiful Bill," championed by President Donald Trump. In repsonse, Trump has hit back hard.
(Note to Elon: Can you please stop this and get back to real business?)
And doing so in ways such as: Celebrating the new Tesla robo-taxi driverless car service that just started in Austin, Texas. Banning hashtags in ads on X. Hailing the SpaceX trip on Thursday that ferried astronauts from Europe and India to the International Space Station. Promoting T-Mobile’s new satellite service that uses SpaceX’s Starlink network.
But Elon Musk has some important unfinished business he should address: making a full-throated apology to the President of the United States.
Not all that long ago, Musk went on a tirade in front of his 221 million followers on X, the premiere media platform that he controls.
He deplored Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill as a “disgusting abomination” that will increase the government debt that Musk had tried to reduce.
Far worse, Elon personally insulted the president, getting angrier as Trump dared to smack back. And then, at 3 o’clock in the morning on Wednesday, June 11, Elon Musk issued his version of a heartfelt apology:
"I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far." "Some"?!
Forty million people saw this post, and here’s the rub: it is insufficient. It lacks two key words that are mission-critical anytime you have to tell someone you are sorry, "I apologize."
What is it with people (and companies) and their aversion to apologizing?
Musk was right on the facts, but he was wrong on style and protocol, which hold more sway in these precious, oversensitive times, when so many people are shopping for umbrage.
No wonder Elon was outraged. He supported Trump and ran DOGE at great cost to himself and his Tesla shareholders (including yours truly).
Radicals vandalized Tesla cars and firebombed or shot up some Tesla sites.
The company’s stock price fell 50% in three months to mid-March, before rebounding 40%. Musk endured death threats, and his wealth at one point was down by $113 billion or one-quarter.
And for what?
The Big Beautiful Bill would increase the government’s $36.2 trillion in debt by another $2.4 trillion over 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office says.
Wiping out the $1.75 trillion in spending cuts which DOGE claims to have made over the same period.
Had Musk confined his criticisms to the bill itself, all might be forgiven.
He and his BFFN (Best Friend For Now), President Trump, could just agree to disagree on the particulars. Musk wants his cuts honored, while Trump wants to get a deal done, whatever the flaws.
But Elon made it bitterly personal. He endorsed a tweet calling for Trump’s impeachment, and lobbed other barbs.
Later, Musk deleted the outrageous and disloyal tweets and expressed his "regret."
This clears the way for what should come next: a clear-throated, full-throttle apology to the President of the United States. In front of the world.
In case "E" is reading this, here are my tips for eating crow, honed from clashes in my career when I had to atone profusely for things I said in anger . . . never mind that I was right. In every case. (Kidding.)
Herewith, my rules for apology:
- Be first to apologize. A pre-emptive bid buys peace and shows remorse.
- Do it in the same place where the offense occurred. On X, in this case.
- Avoid "but" excuses, "I’m sorry, but you . . . " Just own it.
- If you’re gonna do it, dive in deep. Think of them most contrite celebrities and pols who've gone viral apologizing.
- Afterward, focus on the fix. Stop talking about the apology.
- Play up solutions. Never demand an apology, it is a phyrric victory. The person making amends will lack sincerity, and your knowing this will ruin the gesture.
Does Musk still figure in Trump's world? If so, in what way? Can he still?
Delivered in the right way, a good apology can quell controversy and make both sides feel better. It can even lead to a better relationship brought closer by the brouhaha, and this is true in business and in life.
More of us should just take the hit and do it well.
(A related stories may be found here, and here.)
Dennis Kneale, a former anchor at CNBC and Fox Business, is host of the "What’s Bugging Me" podcast on Ricochet and author of "The Leadership Genius of Elon Musk." Read Dennis Kneale's Reports — More Here.