Elon Musk may have thought that dropping more than $250 million into Trump’s reelection campaign would have bought permanent affection from the president. No, it was a show of obeisance that labeled Musk as one to be played. Besides, in Trump’s dog-eat-dog view of wealth, the far-richer Musk may have needed cutting down to size.

Trump knows about human nature. Musk, for all his awesome faculties, does not. Like Heracles brought down by trusting a scheming wife, Musk suffered the fatal flaw of assuming that Trump was truly on his side.

At first it looked like Musk’s hopes would be met. Stock of the tech mogul’s crown jewel Tesla soared on the belief that Trump would grandly reward his enterprises. It’s now down 29% from its December high.

Musk didn’t get that his union with Trump would r

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