The Economist Magazine Cover For 03/29/2025

Cover Story: Elon Musk’s efficiency drive Inbox The Economist Unsubscribe 11:02 AM (3 minutes ago) to me The Economist Read in browser March 29th 2025 How we chose this week’s image SUBSCRIBER ONLY Cover Story How we chose this week’s image Insert a clear and simple description of the image Edward Carr Deputy editor In most of the world our cover is devoted to Elon Musk and his revolution against the federal government in Washington. In the Middle East and Africa we write about Israel’s remarkable resurgence after the horrors of October 7th 2023, and the hubris that now looms. Of all the things President Donald Trump has done at home since his inauguration in January, putting the Department of Government Efficiency under Mr Musk has turned out to be the most polarising. Mr Musk’s fans believe that in the 2010s a priesthood of partisan bureaucrats schemed with the media and universities to impose a progressive agenda on America. To them, dismantling this soft authoritarianism requires rough tactics. By contrast, Mr Musk’s critics see him as a self-dealing villain drunk on far-right ideology. We started with a moody Musk in black and white and an elevated Elon peering down at the mortals scurrying around Washington like ants. The world’s richest man has transformed at least two industries. Just imagine if he could pull off the same trick with the federal government—an organisation whose annual expenditure of $7trn is roughly equivalent to the combined revenues of America’s 20 biggest companies. Across the West, voters are frustrated because their governments are more adept at slowing things down than at making them go. We have worked up the super-human Musk. He does, after all, conceive of himself as a saviour who will put people on Mars and turn humankind into a multiplanetary species. Ordinarily, chances to start government afresh crop up only in times of war, plague or natural disaster. A sympathetic reading of DOGE is that Mr Musk is trying to bring creative destruction to bureaucracies by other means. But that looks much too optimistic. So far DOGE has broken laws with abandon and destroyed careers. It has lied about waste and seized personal data protected by law. Some federal employees still have to send weekly emails listing five things they did last week. But the inbox is full and they bounce back. To make this cover work, we needed a lot more edge. That thought took us to a Cybertruck running amok on America’s most famous lawn. Or perhaps it could be carting off the Capitol dome—which is not too far from the truth, given that DOGE wants to close outfits like the Department of Education that are supposed to fall under the purview of Congress. These images have an extra piquancy because Tesla has recently recalled a batch of Cybertrucks. But we wanted to show the machinery of the state, rather than the legislature or the White House. The feathers are flying and the federal government is at risk of becoming roadkill. For the final cover, we jazzed up the eagle, plonked the truck in the desert and gave it a personalised number plate. Rather than seeking to make government work better, DOGE’s actions so far look as if they are designed to expand the president’s power and root out wrongthink. Facing lawsuits and some adverse rulings, Mr Musk and others have attacked judges, accusing them of staging a coup. Mr Musk—and America—have a huge opportunity. They must not blow it. Just 18 months ago Israel was in grave peril. Surrounded by enemies, bickering with its main ally in Washington and reeling after Hamas’s attack caused the most murderous day in the country’s history, the Jewish state seemed vulnerable and confused. But it has staged a remarkable turnaround. It is fighting again, in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon and in Syria and with full American backing. Unfortunately, its military supremacy comes with bitter strife at home and a danger of over­extension. We started with a photograph of the West Bank. But it struck our correspondents as out of date. The army is waging its biggest offensive in the West Bank in decades. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced from four refugee camps in the north. Far-right lawmakers are pushing ahead with plans to expand Jewish settlements. Or perhaps we could go with a collage of the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu. His government is using aggressive tactics to curb the independence of Israel’s institutions. In recent days the cabinet has endorsed the firing of the head of the Shin Bet, the domestic security agency, and of the attorney-general. The two officials happen to be involved in investigations of Mr Netanyahu’s aides over allegations of graft and other sins. The prime minister says he is innocent. We preferred this idea, however. Israel is planting flags—in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank. This new, hegemonic Israel is the product in part of the lingering trauma of October 7th. Before the massacre Israel sought to avoid all-out conflict, contenting itself with periodic strikes against its foes, to assassinate threatening leaders or destroy sophisticated weapons. When it fought, as it did several times against Hamas, it kept the wars short. The goal was to deter and weaken its adversaries, not to obliterate them. In hindsight, many Israeli generals and spies see that policy as naive. They are no longer willing to tolerate threats on their borders—even hypothetical ones. The trouble is that hegemony will impose a heavy burden on the Israeli army, on society and on the economy. Can Israel carry it? You can browse all of our covers from 2024—and learn about the creative decisions that went into each one—in this interactive Cover Story annual. Related → Is Elon Musk remaking government or breaking it? (Leader) → Elon Musk is powersliding through the federal government (United States) → Israel’s expansionism is a danger to others—and itself (Leader) → An unrestrained Israel is reshaping the Middle East (Briefing) Cover image • View large image (“Elon Musk’s efficiency drive”) • View large image (“Israel’s hubris”)