Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway dissect Musk's unraveling testimony, the FCC's harassment of Disney, and the elegant counterpunch from King Charles.
Elon Musk Takes the Stand
Elon Musk appeared in court this week for his lawsuit against OpenAI, and it did not go well. Prospective jurors described him in questionnaires as a "greedy, racist, homophobic piece of garbage" and a "world-class jerk." On the stand, Musk called himself a "fool" for providing OpenAI's early funding, accused the company's lawyer of trying to trick him, and warned that losing the case would "give license to looting every charity in America." The judge pushed back, reminding everyone that Musk's opinions have no legal value. Kara Swisher summed it up bluntly: "He is losing his brain on the stand. He looks terrible."
The numbers keep shifting. Musk claimed he gave OpenAI $100 million, but emails show it was $38 million. He signed away his rights when he left the company after failing to wrest control. Scott Galloway called it "the biggest example of seller's regret in history." Swisher noted that Musk started off genuinely worried about a Terminator-style AI apocalypse, but that concern evaporated once he launched his own AI company, xAI, which experts say has the fewest guardrails of any major large language model.
The Hypocrisy of the AI Savior
The fact pattern is damning. Sam Altman tried to raise $500 million for OpenAI as a nonprofit and couldn't. Musk showed up and said it needed to become a for-profit company—with him controlling 80% of it. When the team refused, Musk walked away and signed paperwork. Now he's suing, pretending to be a noble guardian of humanity. "He shifted to being a greedy hypocrite," Swisher said, pointing out that xAI's model has been linked to non-consensual sexual images and child pornography. "It's not like he's here to save us."
Galloway predicted Musk will either drop the case or lose. OpenAI, he said, doesn't want to settle. They seem eager to let a jury decide whether Musk's claims have merit. The trial is a referendum on Musk's self-image as a visionary versus the reality of a man who can't control his impulses—on ketamine, on Twitter, or in the courtroom.
The FCC's Political Harassment of Disney
Meanwhile, the FCC has ordered Disney to file early renewal applications for its ABC broadcast licenses, years ahead of schedule, citing an investigation into Disney's DEI practices. The timing is suspicious: it comes days after Donald and Melania Trump renewed their push to take Jimmy Kimmel off the air over a joke about Melania being an "expectant widow." FCC commissioner Brendan Carr, whom Swisher derisively calls "Brenda," is carrying water for the Trumps. "He's a nakedly political person," she said. "What a harassment of an American company."
Disney is pushing back hard, backed by a range of other companies. Swisher believes the FCC will lose in court. The move is a step too far, even for this administration. Late-night TV may be dying, but Kimmel has doubled down, releasing a series of funny skits in response. The broader point is that Trump and his allies are using government power to silence critics, but the targets are finally fighting back.
The Free Speech Warriors' Silence
Swisher couldn't help but note the hypocrisy of the self-proclaimed free speech crowd. "Comedy should be legal again," she mocked, referencing Elon Musk's past tweets. Where are the free speech warriors now? Where is Elon? "He's busy in court losing his mind," she said. The silence is deafening when the target is a comedian who dared to mock the president. Trump himself has a long history of dehumanizing rhetoric: calling political opponents "vermin," telling the Squad to "go back" where they came from, and suggesting Adam Schiff should be punished by death. "No individual in public office has done more of this than Donald Trump," Swisher said.
The culture wars that worked for Trump in 2016 and 2020 are losing their power. People are tired. Disney's pushback is a sign that the corporate world is no longer willing to roll over. The FCC's harassment may backfire, energizing a broader coalition against authoritarian overreach.
King Charles' Elegant Counterpunch
In a moment of pure contrast, King Charles delivered a speech to Congress that was both charming and cutting. Addressing Trump directly, he said, "You have often stated that without us you would be speaking German. I'd just like to remind you that without us you'd be speaking French." It was a masterful needle-thread—polite, intelligent, and devastating. Swisher and Galloway both loved it. "He insulted Trump and he's the only one who got away with it," Galloway said. The king, who studied drama in college, delivered the line perfectly.
The moment was a reminder that diplomacy and wit can still land a punch where brute force fails. Trump, who loves the monarchy, seemed to take it in stride. The tech billionaires sucking up to the king at the event looked ridiculous. Swisher noted that the king's climate change initiatives even got cheers from Republicans. It was a rare moment of elegance in a political landscape dominated by bullying and bluster.
The Reckoning
The common thread across these stories is a reckoning. Elon Musk is being exposed as a hypocrite in court. The FCC is overreaching and facing pushback. Trump's culture war tactics are losing their edge. And King Charles showed that there is still a place for grace under pressure. None of this means the fight is over—authoritarianism doesn't retreat easily. But the tide may be turning. As Swisher put it, "They're going to lose." The question is how much damage they'll do before they do.