Over the past year, the intersection of technology, politics, and personal ambition has produced a wave of disruption across some of the world’s most influential companies and the broader political landscape, according to a slate of recent investigative reports from outlets including The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and MSNBC. The turbulence has been especially pronounced at Tesla and xAI, where CEO Elon Musk’s political activism and relentless drive for technological supremacy have contributed to a string of high-profile departures, while the political maneuverings of figures like Jared Kushner and right-wing billionaires have raised new questions about the entanglement of business and government power.
At Tesla, long considered a pioneer in electric vehicles and clean energy, a cascade of senior employees have exited the company over the last year, according to The Financial Times. The departures span the U.S. sales team, battery and power-train operations, public affairs, and even the chief information officer. Notably, members of Tesla’s Optimus robot and AI departments—teams Musk has publicly touted as the company’s future—have also left, citing the punishing demands of their roles and the increasingly political tenor of the workplace.
“Elon’s got a chip on his shoulder from ChatGPT and is spending every waking moment trying to put Sam out of business,” one former employee told FT, referencing Musk’s rivalry with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The competition for AI supremacy has forced employees to work grueling hours, sometimes more than 120 hours per week. Mike Liberatore, former CFO of Musk’s xAI company, lasted just over three months before moving to OpenAI. “102 days—7 days per week in the office; 120+ hours per week; I love working hard,” he wrote on LinkedIn, a sentiment echoed by others who described a relentless, high-pressure environment.
The exodus from Tesla has not been limited to a single department. Drew Baglino, the company’s longtime energy and drive-unit chief; supercharger lead Rebecca Tinucci; Optimus leaders Milan Kovac and Ashish Kumar; and head of North American sales and operation Omead Afshar have all resigned or been dismissed. Some cited burnout and disillusionment with Musk’s frequent strategic pivots, mass layoffs, and his outspoken political views aligned with the MAGA coalition. “Elon’s behaviour is affecting morale, retention and recruitment,” a long-standing lieutenant told FT. “He went from a position where people of all stripes liked him, to only a certain section.”
For many, the political climate within Musk’s companies has been a tipping point. Employees reported having to navigate difficult conversations with loved ones about their employer’s stance on contentious issues, from transgender rights to the murder of Charlie Kirk. One recent departee told FT, “But nobody that I know there isn’t thinking about politics. Who the hell wants to put up with it? I get calls at least once a week. My advice is, if your moral compass is saying you need to leave, that isn’t going to go away.”
Despite the turnover, Musk is showing no signs of slowing down. His pivot of xAI toward a flirtatious “Ani bot” signals that aggressive innovation remains the order of the day. “He’s the boss, the alpha and anyone who doesn’t treat him that way, he finds a way to delete,” one former top Tesla executive told FT. “He does not have shades of grey, is highly calculated, and focused . . . that makes him hard to work with. But if you’re aligned with the end goal, and you can grin and bear it, it’s fine. A lot of people do.”
Meanwhile, the broader tech and political landscape has been rocked by a series of controversial deals and revelations. On September 30, 2025, The Guardian reported that Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, had brokered a deal to sell video game giant Electronic Arts to Saudi Arabia, his own firm, and another private equity group. The move, which follows Kushner’s efforts to secure massive investments from the Saudi royal family and his unofficial negotiations with Middle Eastern leaders regarding Israel’s occupation of Gaza, has drawn accusations of self-enrichment and of fusing personal business with American political strategy. As The Guardian columnist Marina Hyde argued, Kushner’s approach “adopts a Kremlin-esque model of fusing his personal business interests with America’s political agenda under Trump.”
Elsewhere, the Trump administration’s plan to deliver a multibillion-dollar bailout to Argentina’s MAGA-aligned leader has sparked backlash—even from within the president’s own party. According to Forbes, a photographer for the Associated Press captured a text message on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s phone, apparently sent by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, expressing concerns that the U.S. might be getting fleeced by Argentina, which is simultaneously conducting business with China—a country currently freezing U.S. farmers out of its market due to Trump’s tariffs.
Social media, too, has become a battleground for political influence. The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted how networks of bots are fueling culture wars online, using the controversy over Cracker Barrel’s rebranded logo as a case study. These bots, the report suggests, are amplifying divisive narratives and shaping public debate in ways that are difficult to trace or counteract.
In the world of digital media, concerns are mounting over the potential for right-wing billionaires to dominate the flow of information. An MSNBC op-ed warned that if Trump’s proposal to involve figures like Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in the purchase of TikTok becomes official, it could allow a small group of powerful interests to wield unprecedented control over U.S. media narratives.
Meanwhile, top State Department nominee Jeremy Carl faced scrutiny after reportedly attempting—and failing—to erase a record of extreme, racist tweets, as reported by CNN and MSNBC. And House Democrats unearthed schedules prepared for Jeffrey Epstein that included high-profile figures such as Elon Musk and Steve Bannon, according to NBC News. (Both Musk and Bannon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.)
The rise of AI-generated performers has also sparked heated debate. The Guardian and The Verge reported on the backlash against viral AI "artists" like Tilly Norwood and Xania Monet, with real artists voicing concerns about the ethical and financial ramifications of digital imitators. The controversy underscores broader anxieties about the future of creative work in an age of rapid technological change.
Finally, the ongoing battle over information and misinformation continues to play out in the political arena. Disinformation researcher Nina Jancowicz published a deep dive on Rep. Jim Jordan’s false claims that Google executives admitted to “conservative censorship” on platforms like YouTube. Her investigation, cited by Wiczipedia, found that while Google executives rebutted these claims in testimony, their carefully worded statements allowed the narrative to persist—fueling further distrust and division.
In a year marked by upheaval, the stories emerging from the crossroads of technology and politics reveal a world in flux—where the ambitions of a few can ripple outward, shaping industries, influencing governments, and stirring debate far beyond the boardroom.
