Welcome back to our Sunday edition, a roundup of some of our top stories. Billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman led the first ever private space walk with SpaceX. He talked to Business Insider about facing the “vacuum of death” in just a spacesuit.
On the agenda today:
But first: The world’s richest man takes on the world’s biggest government budget.
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Walking the DOGE
XAOC/Getty, The Washington Post/Getty, t_kimura/Getty, Tyler Le/BI
Elon Musk made his name and fortune disrupting antiquated industries. Next in his sights: Government.
As co-lead of a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he’s charged with finding waste in the US government’s $6.75 trillion in spending.
The billionaire has approached the task in attention-grabbing fashion. The department shares a name with Musk’s favorite dog meme. Musk has promised a leaderboard tracking “insanely dumb” government spending.
A JD for the department asks for “super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries.” Those interested can apply by a direct message on Musk’s social media platform X.
Musk has shown himself to be a master cost cutter. His slashing of jobs at Twitter inspired Silicon Valley founders. Tesla can sell EVs at a lower price than its US rivals and still churn out profits. SpaceX dramatically reduced the cost of sending rockets into space.
And Republican control of both chambers of Congress gives Musk’s efforts to curtail government an advantage over earlier efforts under Presidents Reagan and Clinton.
Time will tell if Musk can do for Big Government what he’s done for Big Tech.
Tesla’s pay packets
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP; iStock; Rebecca Zisser/BI
Anyone who accepts a job offer from Tesla must make a wager on the company itself, accepting lower base pay up front for the chance of a potentially lucrative future payout.
BI secured access to an internal Tesla pay database, revealing the company’s high-risk, high-reward system. The pay structure is ultimately part of CEO Elon Musk’s quest to hire the most “hardcore” employees.
Inside the automaker’s salary data.
Dr. Robot will not see you now
Forward Press Kit, StudioRoma-biz/Getty, Anna Kim/Getty, Tyler Le/BI
The healthcare startup Forward went all in on its AI doc-in-a-box. “If Elon has the self-driving car, well, this is the autonomous doctor’s office,” its CEO said in 2023.
But after raising $650 million in funding, it’s going dark. Forward’s closure shows the perils of AI-fueled style over substance.
A failed attempt to revolutionize the doctor’s office.
Goldman’s marketing spree
Michael Ostuni /Getty, Tyler Le/BI
Goldman’s unveiling of a new logo this year went largely unnoticed by most people outside finance. But inside the storied investment bank it left some perplexed — and spotlighted the executive behind it: Fiona Carter, the bank’s chief marketing officer.
Since joining Goldman in 2020, Carter’s marketing team has made waves, from its rapid growth to the spending associated with glitzy sponsorships. Several high-ranking officials told BI they questioned the cost and efficacy of the bank’s marketing efforts.
More on the team’s head-turning expansion.
A DIY training dilemma
Getty Images; iStock; Natalie Ammari/BI
When companies look to cut costs, on-the-job training is an easy place to start. The plethora of available tech means new hires can spend a little time with a video module, then hit the ground running. Right?
Wrong. The decline of job training means more and more of Corporate America is just winging it. Outsourcing training to the robots is a costly mistake that comes back to bite in the end.
Too many videos, not enough mentors.
This week’s quote:
“When our call ended, I did another quick little happy dance, swung my chair around, and shouted, ‘We did it, team! We did it!'”
— Sylvia Yeh on her reaction to being promoted to partner at Goldman Sachs.
More of this week’s top reads:
