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Elon Musk Rarely out of the spotlight. But even by his standards, 2025 is a solid year.
Over the past 12 months, the entrepreneur-turned-government adviser has achieved huge business milestones but also suffered serious setbacks. He has also been knocked off his spot as the world’s richest man and is now further ahead than ever.
All of this takes place against the backdrop of an increasingly challenging U.S. and global economic environment, and does not take into account developments in private life, including Announcement of 13th child Born a few months earlier.
But on the business front, Musk has been firing on all cylinders all year, but not everything has gone as smoothly as he had hoped. here, independent A year in the life of Elon Musk.
Governor—and Donald Trump
It feels like a long time ago, but the Ministry of Government Efficiency (governor) was not established until January 2025, with Musk’s appointment as a special government employee effectively giving him a 130-day term to oversee cuts to the U.S. federal budget, cuts to public sector jobs and planning Cut U.S. foreign aid programs The total amount is nearly US$10 billion. Of course, a lot of this stuff caused a lot of anger, Bill Gates is one of those accused “The richest man in the world [of] Killing the world’s poorest children.”
While one might have thought he at least had the support of the man who appointed him to the position during that period, President Trump, that relationship proved rocky and rocky, at one point descending into all-out personal attacks spread on social media.
In June, Musk called Trump’s “big beautiful bill” “disgusting,” shortly after hinting at a “really big bomb” on X [was] Trump in the Epstein dossier. For his part, the president blasted Musk as a disappointment. Trump said the government would consider paying subsidies to Musk’s companies and potentially end them, but the petty bickering continued, even as he noted it had to be “fair” to the country and entrepreneurs. Suggesting that he “consider” ejecting Musk is not material as a “first partner” either.
Musk is official ended his term as governor May, a few weeks after telling Tesla Shareholders said he would take “more time” to refocus on the electric car company amid falling share prices and doubts about product launches.
business rise and fall
It would, of course, be remiss not to detail the successes and milestones Musk achieved during the year across his many businesses.
While as is often the case in industry, especially when pushing new boundaries, there will be many ups and downs, but Musk’s company does continue to produce.
For example, Tesla launched a long-range Cybertruck variant in the middle of the year to widespread acclaim from fans, but a massive recall of tens of thousands of early models due to parts issues was a misstep.
nervousMusk’s company is developing brain implants to be placed within the human skull to help people with limited mobility use their thoughts to control devices, and it has conducted multiple clinical trials. he said There is a backlog of 10,000 people There is undeniable potential for positive impact here, but there are also criticisms Possible animal treatment And for Declared as a “Small Disadvantaged Business” Despite a valuation of US$9 billion, it is still located in the United States.
In addition, Grok 4 was launched as a new AI model in July, space exploration technologies corp. With its Starship rocket performing a successful controlled splashdown landing, The Boring Company demonstrated progress in its ZPIT (Zero Personnel in the Tunnel) approach: digging tunnels, moving earth and installing concrete wall segments without humans inside, improving safety and efficiency along the way.
Tesla
But it’s impossible to separate Musk from a company that’s set to fall more than rise in 2025: Tesla.
The stock price remains as usual, tell your own story: The company fell from a high of about $480 last winter when Trump won the vote to about $220 in April amid public perceptions of its CEO, falling sales, widespread economic uncertainty from tariffs and questions about the company’s valuation.
If investing in Tesla—and investing in individual companies in general—has always been a bit of a roller coaster, perhaps 2025 marks the part of that journey, filled with loops, switchbacks, and rapid acceleration toward the top as we head towards the end of the calendar year. Beyond it? As with any ride, you don’t know until you get there – such is the thrill and terror of it.
Tesla showrooms face disruption, while Musk himself has faced protests adequate– collection of people, bus stop posteror even a The car was smashed into pieces.
Some came because of his work as governor, while others were outraged by his actions salute gesture considered insulting At Trump’s inauguration. However, the automaker’s CEO’s comments continue to come as he appears to be trying to insert himself into other countries’ politics or policies.
The result is simple: sales decline.
Particularly in Europe, the decline has been staggering – summer data shows Tesla Sales dropped 40% BYD has overtaken BYD as the continent’s dominant emerging electric car brand amid competition from Chinese manufacturers, reputational damage and a lack of new models. Tesla’s market share had fallen below 1% at the time, and sales were down year-on-year even as overall electric vehicle sales increased by more than a quarter.
Weak sales in India, China and the United States further fueled concerns, although domestic sales picked up in September, driven by buyers overcoming the expiry of tax credits.
In Norway, a similar effect has given Europe a boost of late: Tesla broke a single-manufacturer sales record in a month in November, but that’s not a sustainable trend and was spurred by a tax increase on electric car purchases scheduled to take effect next year.
But Musk has long argued that car sales aren’t Tesla’s only or biggest long-term trump card.
Self-driving cars, robots, artificial intelligence and data — all factors that many investors consider the company’s future revenue prospects. In light of recent events, people inside and outside the company appear to feel the same way.
The world’s richest man
Musk is already the world’s richest man and has been for a while — except for a few hours. very briefly lost top spot Oracle’s Larry Ellison.
Since then, however, Musk has widened the gap again, with his net worth reaching $450bn (£340bn) as of early December, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
That puts him a full $180bn (£136bn) ahead of Alphabet’s Larry Page, currently in second place. In 2025, Musk’s net worth increased by almost $17.5 billion (£13.2 billion), and he did become the first person to hit the $500 billion mark in a short period of time. However, that figure far exceeds even the wealth Musk will have in the spotlight at the end of the year.
His investments span nearly a trillion dollars Tesla’s new salary planwhich was approved by more than three-quarters of shareholders just last month. He will earn $878bn (£665bn) within a decade if he continues to lead the company to major milestones in production and valuation, with the last milestone making Tesla worth $8.5tn (£6.4tn) – to be exact merged The current market capitalization of Nvidia and Apple, the two largest public companies in the world.
The path to these riches is more than just a “new chapter” […] This is a brand new book,” Musk declared after the pay package was approved.
Whatever is written about Musk and his many projects in 2026, he’s unlikely to be far away from dramatic developments, fierce criticism or headline-grabbing headlines — and funding milestones keep piling up.