Elon Musk Gets a Dismal 0.90 on the Stein Scale

He's Very Smart. But He's Very Dumb About How Smart He Is

In 2021, I created a method for rating competence that should have changed the world. It did not. I realize this makes my advice on competence suspect.

When Elon Musk started working for Donald Trump, I predicted their relationship would fall apart in three months. That’s a better guess than I had with my competence rating, which is four years late in taking off.

Nearly everyone who has worked for the Trump administration has gotten frustrated and turned against him. Each of them had seen this happen to others, but thought, “I’m smarter than they are. For instance, I know not to say ‘smarter than them.’”

I can understand why Musk in particular would think that. I have one child who treats me like I know everything. If I had 14 kids, I’d be certain that I knew how to live on Mars. Add a mixture of amphetamines, and I’d also believe that I looked good wearing this:

Musk was surprised at Trump’s disinterest in lowering the deficit - despite the fact that every populist in history sprays money like a broken sprinkler system. When Musk publicly expressed his disappointment in The One, Big,¹ Beautiful Bill Act², the feud I’d been waiting for took off. Unlike past feuds, it required keeping two tabs open since they each own their own social media companies.

Within a few hours, President Trump threatened to cut billions of dollars in federal contracts and tax subsidies for Elon Musk’s companies. Musk held a poll asking X users if he should start his own party, which is the same thing he once did when he asked Twitter users if he should buy the company. Then Musk accused the government of hiding information that Trump was connected to Jeffrey Epstein. And Trump advisor Steve Bannon told The New York Times that the administration should launch some kind of investigation into Musk’s drug use and “initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately.” Musk then agreed with a post saying Trump should be impeached. To which Kanye West responded on X, where he is still allowed to respond, “Broooos please noooooo.” While I understand that it is crucial to the fate of the nation, I did not find out what each of the Real Housewives think.

How did Musk Wile E. Coyote into a trap that had been publicly sprung on every single person who worked for Trump? It happened because while Musk is extremely smart, he is not as smart as he thinks he is.