Elon Musk is undeniably the greatest entrepreneur of our time, with groundbreaking achievements ranging from reusable rockets and self-driving cars to ubiquitous internet. At the core of these technical marvels lies a unifying force: first-principles thinking.
Reminiscent of Descartes’ methodical doubt, this approach identifies fundamental truths—often rooted in physics—and rigorously combines them to create new ones. The novelty brought by Elon is that he focuses this intelectual superpower on identifying and solving another physics-inspired construct: the bottlenecks that hinder a flowing system to grow. Understanding this is understanding why the true impact of his moves often takes time to realize.
As the leader of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.), Musk is now set to apply this physics-inspired methodology to optimizing the efficiency of the U.S. government. His bold vision forecasts a reduction of one-third in government spending, a significant decrease in public debt, and the liberation of innovation from counterproductive regulations—an essential recalibration at a time when artificial intelligence is igniting a new industrial revolution.
At Frst, we always have been and proudly remain fully committed to financing France and Europe’s most ambitious entrepreneurs in the earliest stages of their journey, with the ambition to foster the rise of European tech giants. We believe that embracing the principles behind Elon Musk’s success is essential for this future to happen.
To measure European citizens’ interest in Musk’s method, we’ve developed the Elonscore, which will be calculated regularly in collaboration with renowned polling institutes (like Harris Interactive for the January 2025 edition, see full results below). The score is derived from a simple question asked to respondents in key European startup countries (France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Sweden): “Would you say your opinion of Elon Musk is very good, fairly good, fairly bad, very bad, or that you don’t know him?” The addition of “very good” and “fairly good” responses forms the score.
As D.O.G.E. begins its work in the U.S. and, we expect, achieves remarkable success, we anticipate a rise in Elonscores across Europe. Such a trend will be an early signal that its citizens are eager to support progress-driven initiatives, putting Europe back on the rails of innovation and growth it deserves.
Would you say your opinion
of Elon Musk is...
...very good, fairly good, fairly bad, very bad,
or that you don’t know him?
ELONSCORE = Share of « very good »
and « fairly good » answers.
France
Germany
Italy
United Kingdom
Sweden