Deadline Poet / March 11, 2025

The Ballad of Elon Musk

Calvin Trillin
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk joins President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on February 11, 2025, in Washington, DC.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk joins President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on February 11, 2025, in Washington, DC.(Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)

(Sung to the tune of “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd”)

Attend the tale of Elon Musk.
He fires folks from dawn till dusk.
He seems to treat their woes as zest.
And while he’s about it, he feathers his nest.
His gestures weird, his manner brusque—
That’s Elon Musk,
The chain-saw killer from Tesla.

Calvin Trillin

Calvin Trillin is The Nation’s “deadline poet.”

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