Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur famed for his bold ventures in technology and space, has found himself at the center of a storm—one that blends the ambitions of his mega-projects with a deeply personal fear for his own safety. On December 4, 2025, Musk’s sprawling undertakings, from SpaceX to The Boring Company and beyond, have continued to draw both admiration and apprehension from the communities that surround them, according to recent reports from RadarOnline.com and Politico. Yet, behind the scenes, Musk’s own life has taken a dramatic turn, shaped by fears of assassination and a retreat from the public eye.
It’s not just the sheer scale of Musk’s projects that’s stirred up local debate. Residents near his facilities—especially in Bastrop, Texas, where his SpaceX and Boring Co. operations have expanded—have voiced concerns about environmental impact, community disruption, and the broader implications of Musk’s growing ties to government initiatives. According to Politico, these worries have been amplified by Musk’s involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and his hand in shaping Project 2025, a long-term vision with national political and economic consequences.
But while the world scrutinizes Musk’s ventures, the man himself has become increasingly elusive. The Tesla founder, now 54, recently revealed that his absence from public events is no accident. As RadarOnline.com reports, Musk told a group of DOGE colleagues that he’s rarely seen out in public anymore because he fears for his life. The admission came during a top-secret meeting on November 22, 2025, when Musk gathered current and former staffers from the Department of Government Efficiency to discuss a sweeping 12-year plan for the country’s future—including the remainder of President Trump’s current term and the prospect of an eight-year JD Vance presidency.
Strikingly, Musk didn’t attend the meeting in person. Instead, he dialed in from what one participant described as “a pitch-black, undisclosed location.” The reason? He believed his presence could be leaked, making him a target. According to those present, Musk said, “He believed he was among the top assassination targets in the country, behind only Trump and Vance.”
This fear isn’t new for Musk, but it’s grown more acute in recent times. As RadarOnline.com details, Musk’s anxiety about his safety escalated after he publicly endorsed Donald Trump for president in July 2024—a move that came shortly after an assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. The endorsement, and Musk’s subsequent campaigning for Trump, put him under an even brighter spotlight. Musk has been candid about the threats he’s received. In October 2024, he posted on X (formerly Twitter), “With their relentless hit pieces, legacy mainstream media are actively encouraging the assassination of @realDonaldTrump and now me.” He even shared a photo from Germany’s Der Spiegel, which labeled him “enemy number two” alongside Trump.
In a text conversation with Ashley St. Clair, with whom he shares a son, Musk was even more explicit about his fears. In September 2024, he wrote, “I get credible death threats. I’m #2 after Trump for assassination.” He added, “If I make a mistake on security, [our son] will never know his father,” and urged, “Wake up. This is not the time for sentiment over safety.” St. Clair, for her part, responded by not putting Musk’s name on their son’s birth certificate for security reasons—a move Musk called “necessary for now,” adding, “Only the paranoid survive.”
Musk’s security concerns have not gone unnoticed by officials. When he was named head of the Department of Government Efficiency by President Trump, his private security team was deputized by the Secret Service, granting them certain rights and protections. During this period, Musk was often surrounded by security, especially during visits to the White House. However, his term as a “special government employee” ended in May 2025, and since then, he’s kept a notably low profile.
The last time Musk was seen in public was on September 10, 2025, at the memorial for Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder who was assassinated on a college campus in Utah. Since then, Musk has reportedly avoided public appearances, preferring to conduct business from secure, undisclosed locations.
Meanwhile, Musk’s projects continue to reshape communities and spark debate. Residents near his Texas operations have voiced their concerns about the environmental impact of his facilities, the strain on local infrastructure, and the sense that their way of life is being upended. Some fear that Musk’s close ties to government—particularly his connections to the Department of Government Efficiency and Project 2025—could give him outsized influence over public policy, with consequences that extend far beyond local borders.
Supporters, however, argue that Musk’s investments have brought jobs and innovation to the region. They point to the economic benefits of hosting one of the world’s most ambitious entrepreneurs and suggest that the disruptions are a small price to pay for progress. As one local business owner put it to Politico, “It’s not every day you get to say you live next to the future.”
The debate isn’t confined to Bastrop or Texas. Musk’s vision for government efficiency and his involvement in Project 2025 have national ramifications. According to Politico, the 12-year plan discussed in November’s secret meeting included not only the end of Trump’s current term but also a potential two-term presidency for JD Vance. The scope of this plan, and Musk’s role in shaping it, has drawn scrutiny from political analysts and watchdogs who worry about the blending of private ambition and public policy.
For Musk, the risks appear to be both professional and personal. The threats to his safety, which he attributes in part to his political engagement, have forced him to weigh his public commitments against the security of himself and his family. As he told St. Clair, “Engaging in politics [is] not what I want to do. I do not have a death wish. But the stakes are so high that I really have – I feel I have no choice but to do it.”
As Musk’s projects move forward—and as his influence in both business and government continues to grow—the tension between innovation and disruption, ambition and caution, seems unlikely to dissipate anytime soon. For the communities near his operations, for the political landscape, and for Musk himself, the stakes have never been higher. And as long as those stakes remain, so too will the questions about how much risk is too much—even for a man who’s made a career out of betting on the future.
