Elon Musk returns to his tech empire, facing questions of inattention

The SpaceX Starbase is reflected in water in Boca Chica, Texas. As Musk steps away from Washington, he faces concerns over his prolonged absence from his businesses including Tesla, SpaceX, xAI and X. — Callaghan O’Hare/The New York Times

Elon Musk recently swapped his Dark MAGA hat and government “Tech Support” garb for his old “Occupy Mars” T-shirt, a reference to his rocket company SpaceX’s mission to colonize the red planet.

He embarked on a media blitz, granting interviews to news outlets he had previously avoided and saying he was focused on SpaceX and discussing his electric automaker Tesla.